Former skipper Sourav Ganguly is disappointed that despite exceptional talent and quality in their dressing room, India ended on the wrong side of the result in the third Test at Lord’s, saying a better batting show from the top order would have put the side ahead in the five-match series against England.
Chasing a gettable 193 on the fifth day, India fell short by 22 runs to now trail the series 1-2 albeit the splendid rearguard action did earn the team some praise.
“A little bit disappointed with the way India batted in this series, they should have got this 190,” remarked Ganguly at the Indian Racing League & F4 India Championship event here on Tuesday.
“When you see Jadeja fight and score the runs, and the batting quality in this team, they will be more disappointed than I am because it was an opportunity to get 2-1 up in the series against England.
“I am sure that they will be disappointed not getting to 190 especially with the quality of batsmanship they have in that dressing room.” Ganguly said had the top-order batter applied a bit better, the result would have ben different.
Yashasvi Jaiswal could not open his account while Shubman Gill (6) and Rishabh Pant (9) could not go into double-digit scores. KL Rahul fought at the top with his 39 but Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out) was left stranded.
“If there was even a little bit of fight from the top, this game would have been India’s match,” said Ganguly.
The former BCCI chief was all praise for Jadeja for his exceptional fight that kept India in the hunt.
“Jadeja has been exceptional, he is going to continue to play for India as long as he bats and performs like this.
“He has been around for a long time. He has played some 80 Test matches and more than 200 one-day games. You can see him batting, bowling, and fielding. He is a special player and his batting has really improved over the years with the experience. He is a special player and very important part of this team.”
