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Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman feels Ravindra Jadeja was sent to bat at No.5 to create a left-hand-right-hand combination. According to Laxman, the pitch was offering a lot of help to the England seamers and they had settled into a nice rhythm bowling to the right-handers.
However, as Jadeja is a left-hander, they had to alter their lengths and this broke the rhythm. Although Jadeja scored just 10 runs, VVS Laxman backed the move as he felt the southpaw has shown enough promise as a batsman and also has a great domestic record.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, here is what VVS Laxman had to say:
"Left-right combination would be the thinking behind sending Jadeja at No.5. There was a lot of help for the four England pacers in the air and off the wicket. When there is a left-right combination, you can break the rhythm of the opposition. Jadeja is batting really well of late and has three triple hundreds in first-class cricket. This was not on the spot decision, this would have been planned in the team meeting."
Shardul Thakur's innings gave India the momentum: VVS Laxman
India were in deep trouble at 117-6 when Shardul Thakur walked out to bat. The all-rounder, however, played a whirlwind innings of 57 from just 36 balls and helped propel India's total to 191.
VVS Laxman recalled a similar innings from the all-rounder at the Gabba earlier this year and hailed him for shifting the momentum in India's favor.
"When you are a top-order batsman, there is a fear of failure. But when you bat at No.8 with the tailenders, you can play fearlessly. Thakur deserves praise for the way he batted. He scored an important half-century, not only for Shardul Thakur, but also for Team India because they could have got bowled out inside 150. It was an important innings just the way he played in Brisbane and brought the momentum in India's favour. I will hope that he contributes with wickets too," VVS Laxman concluded.
VVS Laxman is hopeful that the Indian bowlers will restrict England to a total such that they are unable to take a sizeable first-innings lead. The hosts will begin Day 2 at the Oval on 53/3 with Dawid Malan and Craig Overton at the crease. England trail India by 138 runs.
