India skipper Rohit Sharma was all praise for Jasprit Bumrah and Yashasvi Jaiswal following his team’s 106-run win over England in the second Test in Visakhapatnam on Monday. Jaiswal, just 22 years old, set the platform early on for the hosts with his maiden Test double century, whereas Bumrah finished the contest with figures of 5/45 and 3/46 across both the innings. India had set a target of 399 for England on Sunday. The visitors resumed from their overnight score of 67/1 on Monday, but despite some resistance from Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley, they were dismissed for 292 just before tea on Day four.
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“He is a champion player for us”, said Rohit at the presentation ceremony on Bumrah, who also became the fastest Indian to take 150 Test wickets. For Jaiswal, this was his third century in Tests since making his debut against West Indies last August. Rohit felt that the youngster has a long career ahead of him and termed his knock in the first innings as “exceptional”.
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“Looks like a very good player, understands his game. Got a long way to go, of course. It was an exceptional knock. He has a lot to offer the team, I hope he stays humble. The wicket was good to bat on, a lot of the batters got starts and didn’t convert. They are young, new to this format, it will take some time. This win gives us a lot of confidence,” said Rohit.
The win means the five-match series is now level at 1-1 and Rohit knows that there is no room for complacency. “Very proud of such a young squad, to come up against a team like that. Very positive. We want these guys to have time in the middle. It’s a good challenge, England have been playing food cricket. Not going to be an easy series. Three more games to go, need to make sure we do most things right,” added the 36-year-old.
‘Had full belief in ourselves’
England captain Ben Stokes admitted that his team had full belief in pulling off a victory. Zak Crawley was largely England’s standout batter across both the innings, aggregating 149 runs whereas most of the other batters failed to convert starts. The spinners, meanwhile, were impactful throughout the Test, with Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed combining to take 15 of the 20 Indian wickets.
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“Coming into this last innings, had full belief in ourselves that we’ll chase it down. In moments like that, in games with scoreboard pressure, that’s where we get the best out of ourselves. Another great game to be a part of. There’s no suggestion whatsoever about how to play,” opined Stokes.
“Everyone in the dressing room is a quality player. They are good enough to go out there and assess the conditions, and decide how to go about it,” he added.
Stokes had words of praise for James Anderson and Jasprit Bumrah, who were impressive in this Test. “Jimmy is amazing. You look at Jimmy, and Jasprit Bumrah, two great fast bowlers. Even when you are in the opposition, you put your hand up (Bumrah). Jimmy is that player for us,” added the 32-year-old.
The third Test will be played in Rajkot from 15 February.
