Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 15 : Former captain Mohammad Azharuddin believes that if Ravindra Jadeja had played slightly more "positively" on the final day of the third Test at Lord's, the result could have turned around in India's favour against England.
Both teams remained inseparable after day three, with both posting 387 on the board. The Lord's turf came alive for the last four days, and India forced the Three Lions to bundle out on 192. Despite pursuing a paltry target, an inspired spell from England's quicks left India reeling at 58/4 on the penultimate day.
England captain Ben Stokes and tearaway Jofra Archer ran rampant and ripped apart India's middle order to leave the beleaguered tourists threadbare at 112/8. Jadeja (61*) was the last designated batter left with 81 runs short of salvaging a victory.
He fought hard with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj but eventually surrendered to a 22-run defeat. Spinner Shoaib Bashir delivered the decisive blow after Siraj defended the ball, but the overspin took the ball back into the stumps.
Azharuddin reflected on the entire proceedings and felt that if Jadeja had batted with more positivity, India could have crossed the line after working hard to reach that position.
"India played really well, but if Ravindra Jadeja had played slightly positively, then maybe we would have won the match. We worked very hard, but the result was not very good," Azharuddin told ANI.
After India fell behind 2-1 in the five-match series, speculations emerged about Bumrah's involvement in Manchester. India captain Shubman Gill addressed the pace spearhead's availability and said, "You will get to know about it soon."
With Bumrah set to play just one out of the remaining two games, due to his workload concerns, Azharuddin hopes the 31-year-old returns after enjoying more than a week's rest.
"I hope we will do well in the next Test match. Our bowlers bowled well on the flat track. A smaller target is always hard to chase. In the next Test matches, maybe they might make some changes. Hopefully, Bumrah will play after a seven-day rest," he concluded.