Bharat’s victory over England by 106 runs in the second match of the Test series at Vizag owing to incredible efforts of pacer Jasprit Bumrah and other youngsters garnered appreciation from Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Despite absence of players like KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli, the Indian side performed incredibly well with the ball in the final innings and bowled out the rival side by Tea time on Day 4. The game lacked contribution from the fast bowlers and aid from the pitch while Bumrah took 9 wickets and utilised ‘reverse swing’ and ‘change-ups’.
Bharat impeccably dismantled the guest team in the field with Rohit Sharma picking up a sharp catch and Shreyas Iyer hitting a thrilling run-out of the England captain. Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin were picks of the bowlers for the match on February 5.
Rohit Sharma appreciated Jasprit Bumrah in the post match presentation as the team’s “champion player”, who consistently has been performing the job for the team. The winning captain added, “When you win a game like that, you have to look at the overall performance as well. We were good with the bat. You know winning a Test in these conditions is not easy. We wanted our bowlers to step up and they did that.”
Additionally, Rohit Sharma appreciated the youngsters for their top-notch efforts and their mental strength for not turning weak. Team India’s huge runs to defend 399 are attributed to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who contributed 209 and 104 respectively.
Talking about Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Shamra predicted his long tenure as “he looks like a good player, who understands his game really well” and “has got a lot to offer for our team…” Besides, the captain exuded hope the young player “stays humble and focuses on what is needed for the team”.
However, Rohit pointed out the batters threw away their starts as it’s a young team and to gather experience they need time.
Rohit appreciated the wicket for being “good to bat on” but criticised the batters for not being able score big despite good starts and insisted on to instil more confidence in them while to “play freely without any pressure”. The captain expressed great pride in such “a young squad to come up against a team like that”.
With the appreciation of England for playing good cricket in the last couple of years, Rohit Sharma aptly asserted “it wasn’t going to be an easy series” and will ensure right things in view of three more games.
With the win, the Indian Team levelled the Test series (1-1) after the first two matches. The teams will fly out to Rajkot to play the next Test match.
