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'That was an incredible fight': Gambhir hails Jadeja as BCCI drops exclusive dressing room video from Lord's
Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir, support staff and teammate Mohammed Siraj hailed Ravindra Jadeja's 'incredible fight' during his heroic knock, which put the visitors inches away from a memorable victory at Lord's in the third Test against England. Jadeja remained unbeaten on 61 as India's chase of 193 runs ended on a heartbreaking note with Siraj's dismissal.
On Day 5 of the Lord's Test, India needed just 135 more to win and still had six wickets in hand, but a flurry of dismissals in the first session put the visitors on the brink of a defeat. Just when a defeat looked inevitable, Jadeja put up his hand and took India agonisingly close to the target by stitching thrilling 35 and 23 runs partnerships with tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj. Nonetheless, his valiant effort in the end proved to be too little after Siraj suffered an unfortunate dismissal.
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Gambhir hails Jadeja's fighting spirit
Gambhir hailed Jadeja for his fighting spirit as Team India gets ready to make a comeback in the fourth test at Manchester, which starts on 23 July. 'That was an incredible fight. The fight from Jaddu was absolutely brilliant,' Gambhir said in a video posted by BCCI on Friday.
Gambhir's deputy Ryan ten Doeschate said that Jadeja's batting has reached 'another level' as he helps bring consistency and calmness to the Indian dressing room.
'His batting has reached another level. In the last two Tests the consistency and calmness he brought to the dressing room. I've watched him for so many years and how he's developed his game now, his defence is rock solid, looks like a proper batter,' Ryan ten Doeschate said.
Watch the video here:
India fast bowler Siraj spoke about Jadeja's irreplaceable stature in the team combination. 'As a team, as a player, Jaddu bhai is extraordinary in the fielding, in bowling, in batting, he has improved in everything,' he said.
'He makes runs in every important situation for the team. It is difficult to find a player like him for our team. We are lucky to have such a player in our team,' Siraj added.
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