'Reddy Or Jadeja Should Have Attacked'

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July 15, 2025 14:56 IST

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'Bring the deficit down to about 60 and then take it 10 runs at a time.'

Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja put on an 8th wicket stand of just 30 runs that came in 15 overs

IMAGE: Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja put on an 8th wicket stand of just 30 runs that came in 15 overs. Photograph: BCCI/X
 

India's tail fought valiantly alongside all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in their desperate attempt to breach the paltry target of 193.

In a gripping final day of cricket at Lord's, a resilient Indian unit fell short of a series lead.

Jadeja's half-century was complemented well by efforts from tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

While the volume of runs was not massive from these two, the number of balls they faced, 84 combined, gave Jadeja the liberty to put up a fight. But it was not meant to be for the visitors.

India fell short by 22 runs, former India batter and sports broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar reckons India were not aggressive enough in the chase.

'I would like to look deep into the innings and I don't think there were too many attempted attacking shots,' Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.

'For me one telling moment was when Ravindra Jadeja got to his 50 and India were a few runs short, the reaction of the dressing room we saw a couple of people applauding but there was no excitement and the belief that Jadeja will take them through.

'So somewhere the conditions out there, because if they had to get 30 runs they had to bat 15 overs. The writing was somewhere on the wall.

'And there was nothing that Jadeja was doing that was changing that. He got India very close but deep down everyone felt that India could have been a little more attacking. But they would have been more attacking, who knows, the game would have finished early,' he added.

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Manjrekar also weighed in on the partnership between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Jadeja that yielded only 30 runs.

'Look at Nitish Kumar Reddy and Jadeja's partnership. They played well. They had absolutely no issue with the bowling, their defence was solid and it seemed like they were there for a long, long time, but added just 30 runs in 15 overs. And that is where I thought India weren't putting enough pressure on England.

'Maybe, right towards the end, England would have felt the pressure of losing the game after what happened in the morning session. While that partnership was on, no way was England given the feeling that they could lose the game because that partnership was taking India nowhere.

'Time was being taken out but India was not playing for a draw.

'Having said that you cannot be too critical of a Nitish Kumar Reddy. These are all young boys trying to make a mark on their first experience in England,' Manjrekar avered.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, former India coach Ravi Shastri questioned India's tactics during the Jadeja-Reddy partnership.

'I just thought tactically they might have got it a little bit wrong. Once they spent a little time at the crease, one guy should have gone... Reddy or Jadeja should have looked to attack and put the pressure back on England.

'Try and bring the deficit down to about 60 and then take it 10 runs at a time.'

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