Mohammad Azharuddin slammed the Indian hitters after Shubman Gill’s side lost the third Test by 22 runs against England at the legendary Lord’s Cricket Ground.
In the fourth innings, chasing a 193-run total, none of the top-order batsmen, except KL Rahul, demonstrated notable resilience. In the final session of Day 4, India lost the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, and Shubman, as well as nightwatchman Akash Deep. The tourists did not have the desired partnerships, and Shubman reported this after the meeting.
“I do not think we batted well. Don’t think we batted well in the second inning. As you can see, we lost four wickets at the conclusion of the day. And coming into the fifth day, it was always going to be difficult, not easy. We needed good alliances, as they often say.
“You can always say that anyone can be wise after the event,” Azharuddin told NDTV Sports.
The former India captain also lauded the tailenders for their courageous display on Day 5. Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten half-century, but he lost partners from the other end. Azharuddin feels that Jadeja could have tried to attack England spinners Shoaib Bashir and Joe Root a bit more. He also mentioned that the Indian batters allowed England to dominate proceedings with the ball.
“I must admit and congratulate the tailenders for really putting up that brave front. Ravindra Jadeja really batted well. But I thought that maybe when Root and Bashir were bowling, he could have gone after them in those 4-5 overs. If he had gotten another 15-20 runs, the job would have been much easier. We cannot complain about his batting. The way he batted, stood there like a rock and at the end of the day, the result wasn’t much forthcoming for the Indian team. We faltered in the second innings. Rahul batted well too. But at some point, we allowed good bowlers to dominate,” he added.
India
