"Yashasvi was genuinely not comfortable from the word go" - Former India batter's blunt take after ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former India wicket-keeper Robin Uthappa felt Yashasvi Jaiswal was caught in two minds regarding his approach in the tricky run chase in the fourth innings of the third Test against England at Lord's. Chasing 193 for the win, the left-handed opening batter was dismissed for a seven-ball duck, handing the hosts the burst of momentum they needed to work with.

Jaiswal's first outing at Lord's was a forgettable one as he was dismissed for 13 in the first innings by the returning Jofra Archer. The opener looked at sea in the second innings after playing out a maiden over from Chris Woakes to get the innings underway.

He tried to take Jofra Archer on with a wild pull shot to get off the mark midway through the second over. However, he did not get a good contact, having to reach for the short and wide delivery, resulting in a top-edge. Jamie Smith pouched the catch comfortably to send the youngster back into the pavilion.

"Yashasvi was genuinely not comfortable from the word go. You could see through the over that he was confused, so to speak, not clear. Maybe not confused but just not clear as to how he wants to approach it. Because it was only 190 runs, I think he was half and half. It almost seemed like an afterthought, that shot," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

Uthappa recalled an observation where it was suggested that Karun Nair lost confidence in his cover drive after losing his wicket to it in the series opener at Headingley. He opined that his questionable leave in the fourth innings was a premeditated one, as he did not want to fetch deliveries outside the off-stump.

"He (Nair) left it at the point of delivery. I don't think he watched it coming in an made that decision as the ball came to him. Until that point, that dude was batting solid, man. He is batting so well," he added.

Karun Nair was helpless as the incoming delivery struck his pads as he did not offer a shot. He departed after scoring 14 runs off 33 deliveries, and his dismissal triggered a collapse, reducing India to 58-4 at Stumps on Day 4.

"He did not have the cushion to do that" - Robin Uthappa on calls for Ravindra Jadeja to show more intent for India in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test run chase

Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the last recognised batter stranded in the run chase. He was tasked with batting with the tail-enders for well over a session after Nitish Kumar Reddy was dismissed on the stroke of Lunch on Day 5.

The left-handed batter scored an unbeaten 61 off 181 deliveries as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj's resistance eventually ended. Following the contest, several felt that Jadeja should have batted at a higher tempo at certain times to put pressure on England.

Uthappa, however, remarked that Jadeja was not in a position to employ such an approach due to a lack of support from the other end.

"He (Jadeja) did not have the cushion to do that (increase tempo in the run chase). He is the last recognised batter, batting with bowlers, and how can you take a chance? If he was batting with batters you would have seen him taking the attack on. Say, for example, he was batting with KL Rahul, and they had stitched up a partnership. After a point he would have said, 'KL just hold fort, one or two bowlers I'm going to target'," Uthappa opined. "We saw, even with eight wickets down, even with nine wickets down, when India ere about 50-60 runs away, England were feeling the heat, man. You could see it in their demeanor, in their body language, desperateness. They were like,' Are they going to pull a rabbit out of the hat here?" the former India player concluded.

India ultimately fell 22 runs short to hand England a 2-1 series lead heading into the business end. The fourth Test of the series is scheduled to be held at Old Trafford, Manchester, from Wednesday, July 23, onwards.

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Edited by Gokul Nair