‘Everyone’s tail wags, ours is so tiny’- Aakash Chopra highlights lower-order fragility

Aakash Chopra compared India’s batting collapse to tumbling Jenga blocks, claiming that it has become an issue for India because the middle and lower orders have failed to contribute.

India has put themselves in a great position after four days of thrilling cricket in the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at Headingley, Leeds. However, if their lower-order batting had showed more guts and drive, they could have absolutely dominated England in the Test match.

England needs 350 runs to win on Day 5, while India must take all ten wickets to lead the five-match series 1-0. While some consider India to be the favourites, others believe England can chase down the daunting 371-run mark with their ‘Bazball’ antics.

When KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant forged a possibly game-changing 195-run stand for the fourth wicket, India appeared to be on track to set a considerably larger goal in a shorter period of time. India was cruising at 287/3 in the second session.

Pant, on the other hand, was removed at the stroke of Tea after scoring 118 off 140 balls. In the final session of the day, wickets fell at regular intervals as the tourists were bowled out for 364. India’s batting meltdown occurred for the second time during the Test match. In the first innings, they lost their final seven wickets for 41 runs.

“Two magnificent centuries—two collapses. One collapse occurred in the first inning and one in the second. So many collapses; are we playing Jenga? Collapses have become a feature in Indian cricket. Everyone’s tail wags, but ours is so small. It finishes as fast as it begins. So that’s an issue. In the early innings, it looked like you’d score 550-575, but it wasn’t to be,” he stated in a video posted on YouTube.

“There were anticipation that you would score a lot of runs and go far ahead, but that hasn’t happened since wickets fell one after the other, including Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur. Ravindra Jadeja was playing, but we usually play with three or four No. 11s: Bumrah, Siraj, and Prasidh. “It hurts that Shardul has become like a No. 9,” he added.

Ravindra Jadeja’s performance might decide which direction this game goes: Aakash Chopra

Chopra said that England will have to work very hard on Day 5 if they are to win the Test match. The cricketer-turned-commentator picked India as the favourites to emerge victorious, but he also stated the possibility of a draw. Chopra feels that Ravindra Jadejawill have to play a vital role for India to win the Test match.

“England cannot win easily at all. Only one team can win easily, that is India. England will have to work very hard to win, but even a draw is a possibility. Ravindra Jadeja’s performance might decide which direction this game goes. Jaddu had taken seven wickets in Chennai once, where Karun Nair had scored a triple hundred and KL Rahul scored 199,” Chopra observed.