India captain Rohit Sharma was all praises for pacer Jasprit Bumrah after the hosts won the second Test in Vizag against England. This 106-run victory has helped India level the five-Test series 1-1 after England had won the first match in Hyderabad.
Jasprit Bumrah was the star of the Indian victory with the ball with figures of 6/45 and 3/46 in the match. This was an amazing display of pace bowling by Bumrah on a track that had barely any help for the fast bowlers throughout the game.
He depended on 'reverse swing' and 'change-ups' from his repertoire and put them to good use in Vizag. This effort from Bumrah earned him the Player of the Match award over Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 209 and Shubman Gill’s 104.
"He (Jasprit Bumrah) is a champion player for us. he has been a while. He keeps doing the job for the team. 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," Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation on JioCinema.
Sharma lauded the youngsters in the side for stepping up in the second Test match. India was without Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja.
"He (Yashasvi Jaiswal) looks like a good player, and understands his game well. Long way to go for him, has got a lot to offer for our team. That was an exceptional knock, what he did on Day 1, and hope he stays humble and focuses on what is needed for the team," Sharma said about the young team.
Rohit was, however, critical of the Indian batters throwing away the starts they got in the match. He did add that this was a young team and needed time to gain experience.
"The wicket was really good to bat on. If I have to point 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. Important for us to give them confidence. Very proud of such a young squad to come up against a team like that. A lot of the guys are quite young in terms of playing this form of the game. It'll take some time to be absolutely spot on. Want them to play freely without any pressure.
Last couple of years England has been playing good cricket. 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," concluded the Indian captain.
The third Test match of the series will be played in Rajkot from February 15 onwards.
