Rohit Sharma heaps praise on "champion player" Bumrah, credits young side for fightback against England

Feb 05, 2024

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], February 5 : India captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on "champion player" Jasprit Bumrah for his exceptional bowling display in the second Test against England and credited the young team for stepping up, staging a fightback in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Bumrah's breathtaking bowling display and Ravichandran Ashwin's beautiful three-for helped India overcome a fighting England as they levelled the series with a 106-run win in the second Test at Visakhapatnam on Monday. With 106-victory India levelled the five-match series 1-1.
With nine wickets in the Visakhapatnam Test match against England (6 for 45 and 3 for 46), Bumrah helped India level the series 1-1. His yorker that swung into Ollie Pope and uprooted his middle and leg stumps in the first innings was the highlight of his performance. The star pacer used his arsenal of "reverse swing" and "change-ups" to great effect in Vizag, with very little help from the pitch. Pacer's exceptional bowling display became the highlight of the match as he claimed a six-wicket haul, dismantling the English lineup and restricting them to 253.
"He is a champion player for us (Bumrah). 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. Wanted our bowlers to step up and they did that. He looks like a good player and understands his game really well. Long way to go for him, has got a lot to offer for our team. Hope he stays humble," Rohit said in a post-match presentation.
Rohit praised the youngsters for stepping up in the Visakhapatnam Test against the experienced England side.
India had a weak side for the second as they headed into the match without their star players like India's batting talisman Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
"The wickets were really good to bat on. If I have to point anything, 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. 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 have 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," he added.
With the five-match series levelled at 1-1, the action now heads to Rajkot for the third Test, starting February 15.