India played a riveting five-match Test series versus Ben Stokes-led England, at home, ahead of the upcoming IPL 2024 edition. While Rohit Sharma-led India were without many key players, such as Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, etc., they rode on youngsters’ excellent run to win the series 4-1 despite conceding a 1-0 lead.
Ahead of the IPL, Indian captain Rohit Sharma recalled the five Tests and lauded vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah for his overall show, especially hailing his Visakhapatnam Test spell.
In the second Test, held in Vizag, Bumrah’s match figures of 9 for 91 ensured India levelled the series. After Yashasvi Jasiwal’s 209 took India to 396, when they opted to bat first, the Indian pacer dismissed England for 253 after they were well-placed at 132 for 2 at one stage. He returned with 6 for 45, producing a brilliant display of reverse swing. The 30-year-old’s delivery to dismiss Ollie Pope, and even Stokes, were hailed by many. In the final innings, when England were chasing 399, Bumrah once again stood tall with three key scalps to take India past the finish line. He also won the Player-of-the-Match award.
‘On a flat pitch and 35-36 degrees…’
On Bumrah’s spell, Rohit said in an interview with team45ro, “That Bumrah spell at Vizag was unreal. On a flat pitch and 35-36 degrees, it is nearly impossible for a fast bowler to bowl that spell. And then comes Bumrah, who gets the ball to reverse both sides and brings the team into the game. I have never seen any fast bowler in India bowled the way he has bowled and got us those wickets.”
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Hitman even praised Jaiswal for his double ton setting a good platform for India. He added, “(Yashasvi) Jaiswal’s innings (209) covered half the percentage of the team’s score, while the next best was 30-40. For us to come back into the Test series and perhaps win the next three matches on the trot, someone had to put their hand up to bail the team out in the second match. And for the same, there was Bumrah and Jaiswal.”
Shubman Gill’s 104 was also crucial for India in setting a target of over 350 in Vizag, which brought them back in the series.
Eventually, India went onto win 4-1 with brilliant display from the younger lot — such as Dhruv Jurel 90 and 39* in Ranchi Test, Sarfaraz Khan ending with three fifties, Devdutt Padikkal (who scored a fine 65 in his first-ever innings), Akash Deep (accounting for 3 scalps on debut), whereas Jaiswal ended with 712 runs in the series.
Gill also stood tall in the absence of senior batters and amassed 452 runs.
Rohit, Bumrah will now return to action in IPL 2024, starting on March 22 in Chennai. The duo are part of the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) lineup, who open their campaign on March 24 (Sunday) in Ahmedabad.