Vishakhapatnam: India captain Rohit Sharma is very proud of his team for winning the second Test against England in Vizag and levelling the five-match series 1-1. The thumping 106-run victory came on the back of star performances mainly from three individuals – Yashasvi Jaiswal (209 in the first innings), Bumrah (nine wickets in the match) and Shubman Gill (104 in the second innings), and Rohit feels other batters need to step up in the remainder of the series.
While praising the wicket for being fair and batting-friendly, the India captain admitted that batters failed to convert those starts. He said the squad at the helm is young and will learn with time.
The opener added this win will boost the side’s confidence as they chase another series win at home in this format.
“The wicket was really good to bat on. That’s where, if I have to point anything, a lot of the batters got the start, but didn’t convert into a big score, and [that’s] something that we really need to look into,” Rohit said at the post-match ceremony.
“But, again, having said that, I do understand they’re very young, [and] they’re very new to this form of the game. So obviously, it will take some time for us. It’s important from our side to give them confidence, and this win, obviously, will give them a lot of confidence, and [tell them] just to go out there and play freely,” the India captain added.
Bazball is all over everyone and vowed to punish India in their conditions. Having won the first Test in Hyderabad from a losing position, England showed what their newest brand of cricket can do. Even in the recently-concluded second Test, England remained calm during the 399-run chase.
India didn’t allow them to build pressure on them, and courtesy of handy performances from Bumrah and Ashwin, they won this tie. Rohit acknowledged his team’s performance, saying, “Very, very proud of such a young squad in terms of the Test matches that they’ve played. To come up against a team like that, [who] won the first Test match, and then to come out and play like that for us, [it’s] very, very positive.”
“Like I said, a lot of the guys are quite young in terms of playing this form of the game for us. So it’ll take some time, obviously, to be absolutely spot on, but you’ve got to give it to them. [They need] a little more time, a little more freedom as well. And that is something that we are constantly talking about in the changing room that we want these guys to have some time in the middle, go and play freely without any pressure,” the India skipper added.
Rajkot will host the third Test starting February 15.
