Ahead of the third Test versus England, in Rajkot, Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja feels Ben Stokes & Co. are not ‘one of the most difficult teams’. England have given a good account of themselves in the opening two Tests versus hosts India. They won the series opener, in Hyderabad, by 28 runs despite conceding a whopping 190-run lead and gave a tough fight in their chase of 399 in the second Test in Visakhapatnam before losing by 106 runs. The series is currently levelled at 1-1 with the final three Tests expected to be close affairs.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In a pre-match presser, Jadeja spoke at length on England and said had India not committed ‘small mistakes’ in the Hyderabad Test, the scoreline could have been 2-0 in hosts’ favour. “I won’t term England as one of the most difficult teams. It hasn’t been easy for other teams to come to India and play. If it wasn’t for small mistakes in second innings of first Test, we wouldn’t have lost.”
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Jadeja will be the local boy in the upcoming Rajkot Test. His experience will come in handy for India. Speaking about the pitch and conditions, the veteran all-rounder said, “Here the wicket is flat and hard, but it depends on what they have prepared. Sometimes you get 37 wickets in three matches (days), but this wicket looks good.” He added, “The wicket behaves differently in every game. Sometimes it stays flat, sometimes it turns, sometimes it plays well for two days and then turns. I believe it will play well first and then slowly it will break and the ball will turn.”
England have already announced their playing XI for the Rajkot Test, with Mark Wood returning in place of Shoaib Bashir. Meanwhile, India will be without the injured duo of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul whereas Virat Kohli remains out of action as well, citing personal reasons, thus, the home side have a task in hand to remain ahead in the five-match series.
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