Rajkot: Following a massive 434-run win over England in the third Test at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, India captain Rohit Sharma credited his bowlers for showing character and patience in the face of the onslaught from the visitors’ batters, which in his opinion was one of the turning points of the game.
It meant India managed to take a 126-run lead and got the much-needed momentum in the match, which wasn’t a realistic possibility. Eventually, it paved their way to hammer England and take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. “Lots of turning points. Once we won the toss, that was a good toss to win. We know runs on board is important in India. The lead was also crucial for us. The way we came out to bowl after the English batters’ onslaught, important to stay calm. The bowlers showed a lot of character.”
“Not to forget we didn’t have our most experienced bowler too. Was proud to watch the bowlers. Then in our second innings, we knew half the job was done. We wanted to extend the lead, and the two youngsters helped extend it. And then finally Jadeja.”
“When you play Test cricket, you don’t play it in two or three days. You have to stay in the game for five days. They played good shots and put us under pressure but we’ve got class in our squad when it comes to bowling.”
“So obviously the message was to stay calm. Important that time to stay calm, otherwise you drift. We stuck to our plans on day three, and when those things happen, it’s a delight,” said Rohit after the match ended.
Jadeja was returning to the match at his home ground after missing the Visakhapatnam Test due to a hamstring injury. He made his return count by making 112 in the first innings and had a match haul of seven wickets, including a 5-41 in the second innings to bowl out England for 122 in a massive chase of 557.
“For this game, we thought he had so much experience in this format, and scored a lot of runs of late. We also wanted left-right batting as well. Sarfaraz being Sarfaraz, we know his quality, we wanted him to have some time before he comes out to bat.” IANS
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