Did Ravindra Jadeja leave too much for Siraj and Bumrah? Anil Kumble remembered questions

Ravindra Jadeja gave India a ray of hope. Chasing 193, the visitors were 112/8. The only two players left with the all-rounder were Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Given their performances, it would have been considered a win had Jadeja played out even 10 overs. But they batted 35.2 overs with the all-rounder.

Unfortunately, India still didn’t win. Just 58 runs were added in these overs, with the run rate being a little over 1.5. While Jadeja kept the game alive, many felt that the veteran’s approach wasn’t the correct one. In an ideal scenario, Jadeja should have attacked more. But perhaps because the field was spread out and the ball was going soft, he couldn’t time the ball well.

Did Jadeja make an error while chasing?

Former India captain Anil Kumble also reckons that Jadeja should have ideally tried taking the English bowlers on. Chris Woakes wasn’t having a great game and his speed wasn’t menacing either. Considering his prowess against spin bowling, Kumble thinks Jadeja could have tried to take injured Shoaib Bashir and Joe Root to the cleaners as well.

“The two bowlers he could have potentially taken on were Chris Woakes, who is slightly slower in the air, and then Bashir and Joe Root. I know they’re off-spinners taking the ball away, but it wasn’t turning square. So there wasn’t a lot to worry about in terms of spin or the outside edge. Jadeja has played on tougher pitches and against better bowling. I thought he could have taken a chance,” Kumble said after the game on JioStar.

The approach of blocking three balls and taking a single on the final three balls of the over meant Siraj and Bumrah had the tough task of negating the English pacers. But since he didn’t take the bowlers on, the tailenders were under immense pressure.

“You want to take those risks. Yes, there were a few runs he rightly declined because Bumrah and Siraj were at the other end, but he could have chanced it a bit more,” Kumble added.