Ravindra Jadeja’s Dogged Fight at Lord’s Last Summer Showed Why India Still Need Him in Galle and Going Forward

Image :Debasis Sen

Boria Majumdar

At Lord’s on day five in 2025, India were at one stage reduced to 81-7. Each time something similar has happened in the recent past, the team has folded for a few more runs. My fear was that it would be the same at Lord’s and England would seize all the momentum. Ravindra Jadeja was the lone hope out there for India.

In the next hour, we witnessed dour resistance. Both Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy were unwilling to concede without a fight and had started to thwart England. Defending with skill and showing plenty of patience, they managed to stitch together a 30-run stand and take India to 112. Just when it seemed there would be no further casualty before lunch, Reddy edged Woakes to Smith.

You had to feel for Jadeja. He had worked incredibly hard to stay out there and get himself in. He had blunted everything that was thrown at him and was now starting to run out of partners. Stokes and Co. were also giving him the verbals, but with Jadeja, such things do not really matter. He is a veteran and is capable of handling every kind of sledging.

After lunch, England had six fielders on the boundary for Jadeja and, on a deteriorating wicket, it was impossible to hit against disciplined, skilful bowling. Jadeja had little option but to remain patient, keep taking singles and chance his arm whenever the opportunity presented itself.

In what was an enthralling session between lunch and tea, India lost just one wicket. Jasprit Bumrah, after facing 55 balls, finally perished to Stokes. Jadeja’s reaction said it all. He was gutted and distraught. By then, he had started to believe that he could take India over the line and was determined to do so. Had the freakish Mohammed Siraj dismissal not happened, it could have been one of the greatest chase masterclasses by Jadeja.

That is what defines Jadeja: that doggedness and the ability to fight against all odds. Going forward into this series in Sri Lanka and then during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in January-February, India will need this resilience from Jadeja. He will continue to probe away and ask key questions of batters in spin-friendly conditions. At no point will you not see effort. Whether on the field, where he is still among the best, or with bat and ball, Jadeja is always Mr 100 per cent.

Now at 350 wickets from 90 Tests and with many thousands of runs, he will rank as India’s second-best all-rounder after Kapil Dev. With India playing nine Tests in the next six months, there is reason to believe Jadeja can indeed get to the magic mark of 100 Test matches. A different variant of the sword dance will need to come out then, for it will be a moment to cherish for one of Indian cricket’s greatest devotees of all time.

For now, however, he has a job to do: close things out at Galle on day five and give India a real lifeline in the WTC. On a wearing pitch, Jadeja does hold the aces.

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The post Ravindra Jadeja’s Dogged Fight at Lord’s Last Summer Showed Why India Still Need Him in Galle and Going Forward appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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