"Would have come up way more short than Jaddu did" - Legendary batter backs Ravindra Jadeja's gameplay in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has backed India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for playing conventional cricket during his fightback with the bat against England in the third Test at Lord’s. Amid question marks over Jadeja’s intent in the second innings, the cricketer-turned-analyst retorted sharply, saying that even he would have fallen way short of the target despite playing aggressively.

De Villiers further commended the southpaw for his calm and composure during his unbeaten 61 off 181 balls in the fourth innings. He pointed out how the experienced all-rounder played effectively with the tail-enders, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who faced 54 and 30 deliveries, respectively.

Notably, England toiled hard for 33.2 overs to pick up the last two wickets before winning the game by 22 runs to go 2-1 ahead in the five-match series.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers said on Thursday (July 17):

“5:01- I must tell you guys, if I was out there, I would have played a lot more attacking strokes and probably would have come up way more short than Jaddu did. Just stayed so calm.”

“He was happy to sort of play Ben Stokes’s game plan, not really trying to change anything, taking the one when he needed to, not taking the ones early on in the over, around ball number four. He generally took the one, trusting Siraj at the other end to look after, Bumrah as well,” he added.

“Not letting in on that” – AB de Villiers credits Ravindra Jadeja for sticking to his game plan

AB de Villiers further showered his praise on Ravindra Jadeja for his defensive game plan on not allowing the Ben Stokes-led England to dominate him at any point of his innings. The 41-year-old said in the same video:

“6:17 – Stokes in the final innings, the way you always try to really frustrate Jaddu out, and Jaddu sort of not letting in on that. I mean he [it] was incredible, both of them playing cat and mouse game, not allowing Jaddu any free or easy boundaries, and also similar for Jaddu, he didn’t allow Stokes to dominate terms too much as well.”

Ravindra Jadeja returned with scores of 72 and 61* in the third Test, but India lost the match by 22 runs as they failed to chase down a modest target of 193. The fourth Test between the two teams will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester from July 23 onwards.

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