Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was left disappointed by India’s inability to chase 193 against England at Lord’s despite having the exceptional talent and quality in the dressing room. Except for Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, no other recognized batter from the team could even cross 20 runs as they lost by 22 runs and now trail the series 1-2.
“A little bit disappointed. With the way India batted in this series, they should have got this 190. When you saw Jadeja fight and score the runs, batting quality in this team and they will be more disappointed then 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 at the Indian Racing League & F4 India Championship event on Tuesday.
Ganguly also said had the top-order batter applied a bit better, the result would have been different while also lavishing praise on Jadeja.
“If there was even a little bit of fight from the top, this game would have been India’s match, he said.
“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,” he added.
On Monday, the day started with India requiring 135 runs and England having to pick six wickets after setting the visitors a 193-run target. The hosts got four Indian batters out before lunch but were made to work hard for the remaining two wickets in the last two sessions. India were finally all out for 170.
Archer (3/55) and Stokes (3/48) were the chief architects of the English victory, even as Jadeja battled hard for India with a gritty unbeaten 61.
(With agency inputs)
