‘It would have made a difference’: Ex-IND batter rues Rohit Sharma's absence, says ‘Bumrah played cat and mouse game’

India had kept England at bay for the most part of the Test but a solid batting display by Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root swung the momentum back into England's favour at the end of Day 4, and they eventually wrapped up the gigantic 378-run chase on the final day.

Team India probably miscalculated their approach as England eked out a fantastic win in the rescheduled Test at Edgbaston, which the hosts won by seven wickets. India had kept England at bay for the most part of the Test but a solid batting display by Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root swung the momentum back into England's favour at the end of Day 4, and they eventually wrapped up the gigantic 378-run chase in the opening session on the final day.

Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah (Twitter)

The team failed to fire as a bowling unit as Bairstow and Root dictated the show and completed their respective centuries. The duo added 269 runs for the fourth wicket and ensured they remained firm in the middle until the job was done.

After the outcome several questions have been raised about India's lackluster bowling show and ex-Test cricketer Wasim Jaffer too shared his views on the same. However, one thing Jaffer was most critical about was India's defensive field set-up and believed things would have different had regular skipper Rohit Sharma been there in the mix of things. The star batter was sidelined from the match after he tested positive for Covid-19.

“The field position, that too much defensive fielding position for far too long made batting lot easier. Jasprit Bumrah might have played cat and mouse game, you need to be little bit pro-active, which he wasn't and you cannot complain because it was his first Test match. Probably if Rohit was there, a much more mature captain, somebody who has done that before it would have made a difference,” Jaffer noted during an interaction on ESPNCricinfo.

Jaffer also argued that India's batting in the third innings let the team down. After piling 416 all-out in the first and bundling England out for 284, the tourists could only muster 245 on the board in the second innings. Apart from Cheteshwar Pujara's 66 and Rishabh Pant's 57, no other Indian batter crossed the 30-run mark, and the line-up featured four single-digit scores.

“Probably batting in the third innings led England into the game. India could have batted them out of the game and that didn't happen and that presented an opportunity,” said Jaffer.

Continuing further the former India batter noted this allowed England some time to get back in the contest. He also mentioned that had the target been above the 400-run mark, England still would have gone for it.

“Any score England would have gone for it, probably 400 and 425 they would have gone for it as there was time in the game. But I think the third inning batting of India allowed them to come into the game,” he added.

The five-match series between the two nations, which was played last year in August-September, and concluded this year after the fifth Test was postponed ended in a 2-2 tie.