- Cricket connoisseurs, ex-players, experts, and fans alike must be feeling somewhat perplexed. Team India has lost the opportunity to subdue hosts England in the ongoing five-match Test series. The first Test at Leeds should have been won by Team India quite comfortably, but they lost the key moments to hand over the match on a platter to the hosts. The second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, was comfortably won by the visitors on the back of stupendous performances from all key players, with captain Shubhman Gill producing a monumental effort in both innings. Pace bowler Akash Deep was outstanding, scalping 10 wickets in the match to provide Team India the much-needed impetus to overwhelm England.
PC: Hindustan Times
- Thus, the momentum was firmly behind Team India before the commencement of the third Test at the Mecca of cricket, the Lord’s. However, as it transpired at Leeds, the visitors failed to capitalize on key moments by tamely capitulating to the sheer intensity exhibited by Team England, losing the match by 22 runs. Looking from any angle, Team India should have won this Test match hands down, but failed to rise to the occasion to go 2-1 up in the hard-fought series. So, what went wrong? Any true cricket crazy fan would vouch that some of the cricketers did not pull their weight enough to cross the finishing line. Even though opener KL Rahul scored a gritty hundred in the first innings, the team could have scored at least 100 more, but lost their way.
PC: Cricbuzz.com
- Rishabh Pant getting run out at the stroke of lunch was a massive turning point that completely altered the course of the visitors. Another 100-plus runs would have placed Team England under pressure. Of course, bowling out England for 192 in the second innings was a fantastic effort, especially from Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammad Siraj. A target of 192 should have been achieved without much ado. However, some of the dismissals by the top-order batters left much to be desired, leading to pressure being built on the lower order. Karun Nair has had decent starts to his innings. As you know, starts alone will not suffice in Tests, and a top-order batter is expected to score big. He is wasting a great opportunity to establish himself.
PC: News9live
- Agreed, Ravindra Jadeja played valiantly under trying circumstances alongside lower-order batters. The moot point to ponder over here is whether Jadeja could have shown more urgency and taken some risks in scoring vital runs when it mattered most. Coming agonizingly close to overhauling the modest total will hurt Team India big time. The match was for them to lose, and they did lose. One partnership of 60-70 runs would have sealed the match. Alas, Team India folding up for 170 runs means a great opportunity lost to go ahead in the series. What came to the fore was the relentless pressure applied by captain Ben Stokes and the bowlers that eventually led them to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Will Team India hit back? Let’s wait and watch.
