Confidence in Achieving the Target
The captain said, “I was fully confident that we would achieve the target. We had depth in our batting, but England consistently adopted an aggressive approach. Our plan was for two or three 50-run partnerships at the top of the order, but we couldn’t manage that. England played better than us.” He further added that as long as one batsman (Ravindra Jadeja) was at the crease, hope remained. “The target wasn’t too big. If we’d had one 50-60 run partnership, we could have come back into the match.”Captain’s Confidence in Jadeja’s Innings
He said, “Jadeja is an experienced player. I didn’t want to give him any special message. He was batting brilliantly with the lower-order batsmen. Our strategy was for him to spend as much time at the crease as possible.” The captain also explained that on the fourth day, India had thought it crucial to take a lead of 80-100 runs, as chasing 150-200 runs on this pitch on the fifth day wouldn’t be easy. The captain admitted that India could have played better in the last hour of the fourth day and at the start of the fifth. “Yesterday, the last two wickets fell quickly, and this morning England bowled with a brilliant plan. If we’d had a 50-run partnership at the top of the order, things could have been easier.” He also said that the series score (1-2) doesn’t tell the whole story. “We’ve played some brilliant cricket, and I think the next match will be even more exciting.”
When questioned about Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the next Test, the captain smiled and said, “You’ll find out about that soon.” India will now try to make a comeback in the Manchester Test (July 20), and fans hope that Jadeja and the entire team will put this defeat behind them and deliver a strong performance.
