Team India lost the third Test against England at Lord’s by 22 runs while chasing 193 in the fourth innings. As a result, the Shubman Gill-led side conceded 1-2 lead to England in the five-match series.

Resuming the final day at 58/4, Ravindra Jadeja was India's only hope for a miracle after Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer caused another collapse early on Day 5, leaving the visitors eight down in their chase of 193.

The all-rounder put up a brave fight alongside No. 10 Jasprit Bumrah and last man Mohammed Siraj, scoring the slowest fifty in his Test career. England were left frustrated by Jadeja's presence since they had anticipated wrapping up the game in the first session itself.

However, former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the reasoning behind Jadeja's conservative approach in the chase, as he hit an unbeaten 61 off 181 balls with four boundaries and one six.

Speaking on JioHotstar, Manjrekar said while it was ‘heartening’ to see Jadeja’s trust in his defense, he didn’t take the risks needed to make India win.

“Ravindra Jadeja was batting well and defending resolutely, but it never looked like he was taking the kind of risks needed to help India win," Manjrekar stated.

“He was playing a waiting game and hoping against hope. The real star in that partnership, though, was Jasprit Bumrah. He stayed out there for one hour and 40 minutes against high-quality fast bowling, facing bouncers, and it was remarkable to see how his net sessions with the bat finally paid off. The mental toughness we see in his bowling came through in his batting too, and that was truly special," he added.

“It’s heartening to see how much Jadeja trusts his defence these days," Manjrekar further remarked.

“He plays long innings now, patient and with time on his side. The 70 runs he scored in the first innings were not a quick-fire 70 – he batted for four hours. And on this pitch, scoring 50 felt like batting for 50 hours. But if you look at that moment when Jadeja brought up his half-century, the visuals from the Lord’s balcony did not look too positive. The energy from the dressing room said it all, it felt like the team knew that winning would be very difficult. Jadeja was trying, no doubt, but given the pitch, the conditions, and India’s scoring rate, the chase looked beyond reach."

After losing the third Test, India are now 1-2 behind in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. They can’t afford to lose any more matches or the series will be gone.

The penultimate Test of the five-match series is set to begin on July 23 at Old Trafford, Manchester.