It was once again a case of so close yet so far for Ravindra Jadeja. Everyone remembers the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, where the southpaw gave it his all with the bat, but India somehow fell short. It was a similar case in the Lord's Test against England, where Jadeja came up with a great rescue act, playing an unbeaten knock of 61. Jadeja managed Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj at the other end but brought the equation down to 23 runs more required with one wicket in hand despite India being 112/8 at one stage.

However, Jadeja was just a mere spectator at the non-striker's end when Shoaib Bashir's delivery rolled back onto the stumps of Siraj despite the latter playing a pitch-perfect forward defence. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Jadeja for his effort but said that the chase was always beyond the reach of the visitors.

Manjrekar said that Jadeja never took the kind of risks that could have helped India win. When Nitish Kumar Reddy lost his wicket on the cusp of the lunch break, Jadeja decided to just defend and block. He constantly took singles off the fourth ball of an over in his bid to farm the strike. He did hit Chris Woakes for a six, but that was just a one-off. 

Even after completing his half-century, Jadeja did not do his customary sword celebration as he realised the job was not done. However, in the end, it was not to be as England registered a famous 22-run win to gain a 2-1 series lead. 

“Ravindra Jadeja was batting well and defending resolutely, but it never looked like he was taking the kind of risks needed to help India win. He was playing a waiting game and hoping against hope,” Manjrekar said while speaking on JioHotstar. 

“It’s heartening to see how much Jadeja trusts his defence these days. He plays long innings now, patient and with time on his side. The 70 runs he scored in the first innings were not a quick-fire 70 — he batted for four hours. And on this pitch, scoring 50 felt like batting for 50 hours,” he added.

‘Chase was out of India’s reach'

Manjrekar added that India's defensive approach made it hard for him to believe that the visitors would go over the line, and in the end, this is exactly what transpired at the home of cricket.

“But if you look at that moment when Jadeja brought up his half-century, the visuals from the Lord’s balcony did not look too positive. The energy from the dressing room said it all; it felt like the team knew that winning would be very difficult," said Manjrekar.

"Jadeja was trying, no doubt, but given the pitch, the conditions, and India’s scoring rate, the chase looked beyond reach,” he added. 

The final day of the Lord's Test saw Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy losing their wickets in the first session, and this was the main reason behind India suffering a defeat.