'Ravindra Jadeja should have taken more risk...': Ravichandran Ashwin's blunt remark following India's defeat in Lord's Test

Legendary India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised Ravindra Jadeja for his gritty knock of 61 runs from 181 deliveries against England at Lord's, but also remarked that the left-hander should have taken a little more risk by trying to hit some big shots. Though Jadeja tried his level best to help the Men in Blue in chasing down the target of 193 on Day 5 alongside tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, the team eventually ended up falling short by 22 runs and got bundled out for 170.

Following the conclusion of the match, Ashwin shared his verdict on India's defeat and stated that he had been constantly messaging a prominent cricketer throughout the game, however did not disclose the player's identity. He also mentioned that both of them agreed that Jadeja should have taken more risk during his inning.

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"I was messaging a big cricketer throughout the match. I won't take his name, but both of us were discussing the match. Both of us felt that Jadeja should have probably taken a little more risk, but not a lot. The way he played, hats off! Jaddu showed an entire generation of Gen Bold that you can play with patience and skin the Test game," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin wanted Jadeja and Siraj to target Bashir

Ashwin further stated that Jadeja could have targeted Shoaib Bashir himself or could have told Siraj to go for a big shot against the spinner as the Indian pacer certainly knows how to hit the ball hard despite being a tailender.

"He could have picked one moment with Siraj and asked him to go after Bashir because Siraj can hit a clean ball. He can hit a spinner to the leg side with the slope," Ashwin added.

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Meanwhile, the victory at Lord's saw England take a valuable 2-1 lead in the series heading into the fourth match in Manchester which is set to commence from July 23. It is now crucial for Shubman Gill & Co. to record a victory at Old Trafford as if the hosts manage to win there as well, then they will go on to seal the series even before the fifth match. It remains to be seen if the Men in Blue will be able to make a comeback in the series or not by winning the fourth Test.