Pujara Defends Jadeja’s Knock After Lord’s Criticism (1)
Cheteshwar Pujara has stood firmly in support of Ravindra Jadeja after several Indian cricket legends criticized his cautious batting during the final day of the third Test at Lord’s. India lost the match to England by 22 runs, despite Jadeja’s unbeaten 61 off 181 balls.
While England players appreciated Jadeja’s fight, some former cricketers including Anil Kumble, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Sourav Ganguly, felt he should have shown more intent, especially against spinner Shoaib Bashir. They believed a slightly more aggressive approach might have changed the outcome.
Pujara, however, disagreed and said Jadeja did exactly what the situation demanded. “He couldn’t have scored faster on that track. The ball was soft and the pitch was slow. I think Jadeja expected the tailenders to hang on and wanted to take risks later. He was batting well,” Pujara told The Indian Express.
He added that Jadeja smartly tried to protect Bumrah and Siraj by keeping the strike late in the over, as scoring boundaries was becoming harder.
Pujara Highlights Jadeja’s Growth as a Test Batter
Pujara praised Jadeja for his improvement over the years, especially in overseas conditions. “In the last five years, he has worked really hard. Even on match days, he puts in the effort during nets. He has improved against pace and is now a complete batter,” Pujara said.
He pointed out that Jadeja was once seen as a good player of spin but less effective against fast bowling. Now, Pujara believes Jadeja can handle both with confidence.
“Scoring 300 in first-class cricket is not a small achievement. He always had the talent, but now he is converting those starts into big scores at the international level,” Pujara added.
Having played alongside Jadeja for Saurashtra in domestic cricket, Pujara said he was impressed by how well Jadeja handled seamers in English conditions, something that was once considered a weakness.
With the series now tilted 2-1 in England’s favor, Pujara believes Jadeja’s knock deserves respect, not criticism.
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