Visakhapatnam:Indian skipper Rohit Sharma feels proud of his inexperienced bunch for giving their best on the field and winning a Test match against a formidable side like England. India crashed out England by 106 runs in the second Test to level the series by 1-1 at the VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Monday.
After defeat in the Hyderabad Test, with injuries to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, India, the hosts, were not the favourites to win the Test match. But then, going out there and playing at their best and pulling off an impressive victory was a testament to their talent. Notably, there were eight players in the starting line-up with a collective experience of only 68 Tests, five of them with match count that was not even in double digits.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Captain Rohit said, "(I am) very proud of such a young squad, to come up against a team like that. A lot of guys are quite young in terms of playing this form of the game."
The 36-year-old knows that less experienced players are bound to make mistakes and he wants experts to cut them some slack. "It'll take some time to be absolutely spot on. (I) want them to play freely without any pressure," Rohit said.
"The last couple of years, England have been playing good cricket. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy series. Three more to go. We'll keep our check on it and make sure we do most things right," he added.
Jasprit Bumrah, who completed his 150 Test wickets, received the Man of the Match award for his nine wickets in the match, including a six-for in the first innings of the match on a competitive Visakhapatnam surface. The skipper kept it short and reiterated what had been said several times for his biggest match-winner. "He is a champion player for us," Rohit said but wanted to look at the bigger picture.
“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. Wanted our bowlers to step up and they did that," elated Rohit Sharma said.
Yashasvi Jaiswal with 86 in the first Test, followed by a maiden double hundred in the just-concluded game looks like a star in the making and Rohit wants him to remain grounded. "He looks like a good player and understands his game well. There is a long way to go for him, he has got a lot to offer for our team. Hope he stays humble."
England failed to win but were in the match until Ben Foakes’ wicket, thanks to their 'Bazball' approach. "The wicket was really good to bat on. If I have to point out anything, a lot of the batters got starts, but couldn't get big scores. But, I understand they're young and new to the game. (It is) important for us to instil confidence in them," the former Mumbai Indian skipper acknowledged.
Read More
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