Indian skipper Rohit Sharma hailed the team’s youngsters after they won the fourth Test match against England at Ranchi by five wickets on Monday to take a lead of 3-1 in the series. In the absence of big players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (who played in the opening Test only), and Mohammad Shami, youngsters have grabbed their opportunities with both hands.
The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Akash Deep have been able to grab their opportunities with both hands. India has an inexperienced batting line-up but the youngsters have stood tall for the team.
Dhruv Jurel played a gutsy knock of 90 runs in the first innings at Ranchi when India were tottering at 177-7. He stitched a crucial alliance of 76 runs with Kuldeep Yadav and then the Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav bagged nine wickets between them to skittle England out at 145.
Furthermore, Jurel and Shubman Gill added 72 runs for the sixth wicket after India lost five wickets for 36 runs on the fourth day in the second innings. Gill scored his sixth Test fifty, scoring an unbeaten 52 whereas Jurel continued his rich form, adding a vital knock of unbeaten 39 runs. Earlier, Rohit Sharma and in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal added 84 runs for the opening partnership to give a perfect start in the run-chase of 192.
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “It is not pleasing when you miss your key players, but you can do nothing as a group. Those guys (Kohli and Co.) are proven players in every condition and to come in and fill their shoes was not easy for these guys. There was pressure from the outside not inside but I thought they responded very well to all the situations. When you make a mark like that, it holds you in good position to have a long career. Performances like this will motivate them and make sure whenever the opportunity comes they are ready for it.”
Rohit lauded Dhruv Jurel for playing a key role in India’s win as he returned with scores of 90 and 39* and played at the top of his game.
Rohit concluded, “Jurel playing his second Test showed solid composure, calmness and he’s got the shots as well to play all around the wicket. The first innings 90 of his was very crucial for us to get close to England’s total and again in the second innings showed a lot of maturity, and composure along with Gill.”
The fifth and final Test match between India and England will be played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala from March 7.
