Ajinkya Rahane has pointed out various reasons why India lost the Lord’s Test match against England in the ongoing five-match Test series.Rahane said Pant’s run-out in the first innings and then Karun Nair’s brain fade in the second cost India dearly.“I thought Ben Stokes attacking the ball, one-handed pick-up and throwing towards the non-striker was amazing. It’s very easy for the fielder to get relaxed,” Rahane said on his YouTube channel.“When you see only two or three balls left before lunch, you can easily get relaxed. But his attitude towards the ball, his intensity, and getting that run-out — that’s where I felt England came into the game.”
However, Rahane felt India were cruising in the second innings despite losing Jaiswal’s wicket early while chasing 193.“At that point in time, India were cruising — 40-odd for one. But that LBW of Karun Nair, that changed the game for India and England.“I thought England came back into the game really well. And after that, they started bowling well. Their intensity on the field, their fielders, the character they showed — it was amazing.“That’s what you want to see in Test cricket — all 11 fielders coming together and looking to win the Test match. It was so good to see their attitude and character on the field.“Even though India fought back really well, again, credit goes to the England team — the way they came back into the game and won the Test match,” he said.
Talking about where India lost the Test match, the 37-year-old said: “As I said earlier, it was India’s Test match to win.“When KL and Rishabh were batting in the first innings, I thought their partnership was amazing. They batted beautifully. But India was 75–100 runs short.“We all know that Day 4 and 5 get slightly difficult to bat on. It’s not easy to score runs. Yes, England bowled really well.“But I felt India missed an opportunity to get that big score on the board in the first innings. And also, I feel going forward, India should look to add one extra bowler — because you’re going to win a Test match or a Test series by getting 20 wickets.”
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