"Way too conservative in the top five" - RCB legend slams India's batting template in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend AB de Villiers has slammed the top five Indian batters following their 22-run loss against England in the third Test at Lord’s. The remarks came as the tourists were bundled out for 170 while chasing a modest target of 193 to go 1-2 behind in the five-match Test series.

The cricketer-turned-analyst criticized the top order for playing a conservative brand of cricket, which backfired, allowing Ben Stokes-led England to dictate terms in the fourth innings.

AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel:

“6:38 – I think team India went wrong in my humble opinion, final innings way too conservative with the bat in hand in the top five. I felt Jaddu played it to the tea because he needed to be conservative and play the situation, where I felt the top five had a lot more freedom to be fluent out there and to take that attack to the English bowlers, put pressure on them, make them get the catches out." "Team India never got to do that as they were very tentative, very conservative, obviously wanted to take it deep, but that sort of backfired,” he added.

The 41-year-old reiterated that the visiting batters wasted all the good work of the bowlers, who bundled out England for 192 in the second innings. De Villiers said:

“9:06 – India will be very disappointed not leading this series right now. They’ve missed out on so many opportunities to dominate, especially with the bat in hand with those last batters." "If they can sort that out, I truly believe Team India’s bowling attack is over England’s batting attack, and they are doing their job. It’s just the batters because they’re getting the starts, but they’re not just pushing on,” he stressed.

In the run chase, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, and skipper Shubman Gill returned with scores of 0 (7), 14 (33), and 6 (9), respectively. KL Rahul fought hard for his 39 off 58 deliveries.

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“Make sure you shut it and you lock it” – AB de Villiers slams India for first innings collapse

AB de Villiers further slammed the tourists for their batting collapse in their first innings. The statement came as the visitors lost their last four wickets for 11 runs, failing to gain any lead in the first innings. The legendary Proteas batter said:

“9:27 - So, that will be the theme for Team India going into Test match number four, also five, where it’s a couple of mustwins [games] for them. First thing first, the most important thing, priority is that Test match at Manchester make sure they get the momentum on their side again." "And conce they get an opportunity to shut the door, make sure you shut it and you lock it alright because Team England have got a habit of opening that door if you don’t lock it properly,” he added.

For the unversed, India had also suffered a batting collapse in both innings of the first Test at Headingley. Apart from that, the Shubman Gill-led side also made multiple errors on the field in the third Test as KL Rahul dropped Jamie Smith, who scored 51 after being dropped on 5. The visitors also conceded 63 extras in the Test match as compared to 30 from England.

Click here to check out the ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test full scorecard.

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Edited by James Kuanal