ENG vs IND: Indian team hails ‘MVP’ Ravindra Jadeja for Lord’s heroics

The Indian team, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, heaped praise on all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for his heroic performance in the Lord’s Test against England.

Jadeja’s gritty fourth-innings knock of 61 off 181 balls kept India’s hopes of a dramatic win alive before the visitors fell short by 22 runs in the third Test.

“That was an incredible fight. The fight from Jaddu was absolutely brilliant,” said Gambhir in a video posted on the BCCI website on Friday.

Jadeja’s fighting knock came after India suffered a collapse while chasing England’s target of 193. The all-rounder, batting at No. 7, put together long, defiant stands with tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, playing out more than 34 overs to keep India in the game.

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India’s resistance eventually ended as Siraj played on against Shoaib Bashir, giving the home team a 2-1 lead in the series.

“His batting has reached another level. In the last two Tests the consistency and the calmness he brought to the dressing room. I’ve watched him for so many years and how he’s developed his game now, his defence is rock solid, looks like a proper batter,” Gambhir’s deputy Ryan ten Doeschate said in the video.

“I always felt he has the ability to take pressure. With so much of experience, he normally comes with something that the team needs in any challenging conditions. Really, really valuable to the team,” said India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, Jadeja’s former Saurashtra teammate.

Siraj echoed the sentiment, underlining Jadeja’s all-round value. “It’s very difficult to get a player like him, and we are lucky to have such a player in our team.”