Ravindra Jadeja: England white-ball gloveman Jos Buttler compared Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s style of batting on Day 5 at Lord’s to MS Dhoni. He pointed out how the southpaw tried to make the opposition crack under pressure first with his batting method.
Ravindra Jadeja: Buttler added that Jadeja had the ability to hang around for long periods of time and lauded his commitment on the final day. The 36-year-old remained not out on 61 off 181 balls even as India were bowled out for 170 in their second innings, losing the Test match by 22 runs.
Ravindra Jadeja: Buttler said on the For the Love of Cricket podcast to Stuart Broad (via The Times of India):
Ravindra Jadeja: “Jadeja is an incredible cricketer. If KL Rahul was going to be the calm guy to try and take it through, Pant was probably going to be the opposite—with a bit of dash and trying to win it in an hour – whereas Jadeja has that sort of stickability and ‘I’m going to try and be here till the end.’ It was Dhoni-style, really, just like, ‘I’m going to hope you crack first”.
Ravindra Jadeja: The all-rounder had an excellent match with the bat at Lord’s. He made 72 vital runs in the first innings, which helped India level England’s score of 387. He rallied the lower order with him in the second innings to help India recover from 82/7 and take them close to the target.
Buttler praised Jadeja for the faith he showed in the lower order and lauded him for giving them clarity, with India in dire trouble of losing by a big margin.
“What I loved most was the way he went about it and how committed he was to his plan. The amount of faith he showed in No 10 and 11, I think, did wonders for them. I think they buy into that – when you give someone trust and you say, ‘We can do this. This is how we are going to win the game.’
“Jadeja gave them a clear role—‘This is what I need from you.’ Bumrah and Siraj, two very feisty, competitive, proud guys, put their bodies on the line. Absolutely, they’re not the best batters, but it’s like they’re going to find a way,” the two-time World Cup winner said.
Ravichandran Ashwin praises Ravindra Jadeja’s batting while admitting he could have taken a few more risks on Day 5
Former India off-spinner and Jos Buttler’s former Rajasthan Royals teammate Ravichandran Ashwin also praised Ravindra Jadeja’s batting performance on Day 5 at Lord’s. However, the 38-year-old admitted that the all-rounder could have taken a few more risks during his innings on Monday, July 14.
“I was messaging a big cricketer throughout the match. I won’t take his name, but both of us were discussing the match. Both of us felt that Jadeja should have probably taken a little more risk, but not a lot. The way he played, hats off! Jaddu showed an entire generation of Gen Bold that you can play with patience and skin the Test game,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Jadeja has amassed 327 runs in three Test matches so far at an average of 109. While his batting has flourished in England, he is yet to produce a match-defining performance with the ball, having taken just three wickets in as many Test matches.
