'If someone had to take a risk and get out, it...': Anil Kumble questions Ravindra Jadeja's mindset after Lord's heartbreak

Former India head coach Anil Kumble believes that Ravindra Jadeja should have taken the risk instead of Mohammed Siraj in the third Test match against England at Lord's Stadium in London. He reckons that Jadeja exposed Siraj to a full over from Shoaib Bashir was a decision that backfired at a critical moment.

Ravindra Jadeja scored a gritty unbeaten fifty after India's batting collapse in the third Test match against England, but his knock went in vain as Shoaib Bashir picked up Siraj's wicket when the visitors needed just 22 runs to win the clash.

“If someone had to take a risk and get out, it should have been Jadeja, not Siraj,” Kumble said, questioning the choice to let Siraj face three deliveries when only 23 runs were needed for victory. “Allowing a full over to Bashir at such a stage was a misstep” as quoted by IANS.

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Jadeja came to bat during the sixth over of Day 5 when India were reeling at 82, chasing 193. He batted calmly and frustrated English bowlers as wickets kept tumbling around him. His unbeaten 61 nearly pulled off one of the most improbable chases in recent Test memory, before Siraj was bowled trying to survive an over from Bashir the same bowler Jadeja had kept off strike effectively throughout much of his innings.

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The dismissal stirred memories of India’s narrow defeat to Pakistan in Chennai in 1999 for Kumble. “It reminded me of that Test when Javagal Srinath was bowled by Saqlain Mushtaq while supporting Sachin Tendulkar, who had almost pulled off a miracle. It’s a similar feeling,” Kumble recalled.

Kumble also revealed the other key moments behind India's loss, as India gave 32 extras in the first innings, 65 in total, and Siraj being struck on the shoulder by Jofra Archer, which may have unsettled him before that final over.

Still, Kumble hailed the contest as a “great advertisement for Test cricket,” noting that all three matches in the series so far had gone down to the wire. With England now leading 2-1, he added, “Session by session, it’s been a tightly contested series. Test cricket is alive and kicking.

The fourth Test match of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 will take place from 23-27 July at Old Trafford Cricket Ground.