“It was very difficult to score runs on that pitch” - Cheteshwar Pujara defends Ravindra Jadeja’s defensive approach at Lord’s

Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's Saurashtra teammate Cheteshwar Pujara has come out in defense of him after the former failed to take Team India over the winning line at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on Monday, July 14.

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Interestingly, a lot of former cricketers wanted Jadeja to go for the kill as he had only Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj on the other end of the crease. However, Jadeja opted for a defensive approach, which didn’t work for India.

Nevertheless, Pujara asserted that Jadeja couldn’t score quick runs on the surface, as it turned out to be a bit slow. While Bumrah scored a 54-ball five-run knock, Siraj could score four runs off 30 balls before getting dismissed.

“He couldn’t have scored faster on that track. I felt that it was because the ball was soft, and the pitch was on the slower side. I guess, Jadeja would have thought that the tailenders were batting well and the team was getting close to the total. And once they were a little closer he would have taken his chances. I thought he was batting well. It was very difficult to score runs on that pitch,” Pujara said as quoted by The Indian Express.

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“The only thing he could have done better is to look to score down the ground. Like there was a gap between mid-off and cover,” he added.

Furthermore, Pujara stated that Jadeja has improved a lot in the last five years in the longest format of the game, especially against pace. Notably, Jadeja stood unbeaten on 61 in 181 balls with four fours and a six in the fourth innings of the Lord's Test.

“For the last five years, he has improved, especially abroad. He has been working hard. If you notice, even on the match day, he does his net practice. He has shown improvement when playing pace,” he stated.

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