The former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has finally had his say on India's loss at Lord's in the third Test. The team fell agonisingly short of what would have been a memorable victory at the Home Of Cricket.
Chasing 193 runs to win, India needed 136 runs on the final day with six wickets remaining. The team lost four wickets in the final session of Day 4 at Lord's.
The former Indian head coach believed that despite the great resistance from the Indian lower-order, it was the Indian top-order that made India lose the game.
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Ravi Shastri Laments Top-Order's Contribution In Lord's Test
Talking to the ICC, Ravi Shastri said that if only the Indian top-order been a little tougher, India would have won the Lord's Test. Jofra Archer induced a false shot from Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was dismissed for a duck in the second innings. Karun Nair did not offer a short to a delivery that was coming in and Indian skipper Shubman Gill was ruled out to a controversial decision.
“Having said that (About Rishabh Pant dismissal), again at 40/1 (in the second innings), I thought that was a huge lapse in concentration from Karun Nair to leave a straight ball, a nothing ball, to leave it and open the door for England. I thought that the timing of that dismissal turned things around. Because you saw when Siraj batted, when Bumrah batted, when Jadeja was batting, once the ball was 40 overs old, they hardly put a foot wrong. They were solid in defence and to bring that target down at lunch, 82 to get, you thought in the next 10 minutes it would be done and dusted. But to bring that 82 or 83 to 22 was a massive achievement. So it just goes to show that if the top order had just been a little tougher and mentally stronger on Day 4, towards the end, this game would have been India’s,” Shastri told The ICC review.
He also pointed out Rishabh Pant's run out in the first innings, which was the turning point of the game, as per him. India were well placed at 248 runs for three wickets when Pant was run out, which changed the course of the game just before lunch.
“The turning point for me in this Test match was, first of all, Rishabh Pant’s dismissal (in the first innings). Ben Stokes, simply outstanding presence of mind to hit at the right end and pull it off on the stroke of lunch. Because India would have got a lead and they were in the driver’s seat" Shastri said.
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Shastri Hails England's Resilience
Shastri further hailed England's resilience in the Test match. He said that as a team, they seized the key moments of the game and they took every opportunity that came their way.
The former Indian head coach also praised England for their resilience. “You have to compliment England. When the going got tough, those moments they seized. And when they saw an opening in the door, they just banged their door down. There was hardly anything in that surface, and if you had lost two wickets less the previous day I think India would have chased that down.” said Shastri.
The fourth Test starts in Manchester from July 23 and India need to win the fourth Test as well as the fifth to win the series. There might be some tough calls taken in terms of playing combinations as well.
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