Team India skipper Rohit Sharma applauded the performance of his side's youngsters in the second Test against England at DR Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium at Vishakhapatnam on Monday, January 5.
India made a comeback to level the series 1-1 with 106-run win over England on Day 4 of the Vizag Test. After being bundled out for 255 in the second innings, hosts set a 399-run target for tourists to chase. Despite having two days to chase down the hefty target, England were bundled out for 292 in 55.5 overs.
Senior bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah picked three wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar picked a wicket each.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma said that Vizag was a good wicket to bat while pointing out that a lot of batters failed to convert their good starts into big scores. He added that it's important for the team to give some time to youngsters since they are new to the 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," Team India skipper.
"But, again, having said that, I do understand they're very young, 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."
Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, no other batters were able to score half century. Jaiswal top-scored for India with 209, while second-best was Shubman Gill's 34. In the second innings, Gill scored 104 off 147 balls while Axar Patel's 45 was the second highest score.
'Very proud of such a young squad' - Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma highlighted on playing with relatively young squad against in-form England Test side, consisting the likes of skipper Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley and James Anderson.
"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,"
Almost all the players in India squad including the likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Shreyas Iyer. Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj are below of 30 years of age.
Interestingly, India were without the services of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami in the second Test and still managed to pull off the win against experienced England Test team.
Rohit Sharma lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal's performance
Yashasvi Jaiswal emerged as one of the star performers in the ongoing Test series against England. In the opening Test in Hyderabad, the 22-year-old played brilliant innings of 80 off 74 balls, missing out on well-deserved century by 20 runs.
However, the Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer shouldered the responsibility for India's batting and notched up his maiden double century, which helped India post a total of 383 in the first innings.
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma hailed Yashasvi Jaiswal's 209 as 'exceptional knock', adding that he has long way to go in his career. Also, Team India skipper is hoping that Jaiswal remains humble and delivers when the team needed him the most
"Looks like a very good player, understands his game really well. He's got a long way to go, of course. He's just coming to the side now, and every opportunity he's trying to make the most of it." Rohit said.
"That was an exceptional knock, what he did in the first day. Long way to go, like I said. He's got a lot to offer to our team, and I hope he stays quite humble and focuses on what is needed for the team." he added.
