Follow UsIn the immediate aftermath of India going down 1-0 in Hyderabad, with many players missing for the subsequent Tests, there was a big question mark on India’s ability to storm back. Their game against spin exposed, and England made a mark with their fresh approach. However, in a style that’s truly the representative of Indian cricket in the last decade, they put the disappointment behind them to stage a 4-1 comeback, not letting any chance for England to have a crack at this Indian side.
“When you win a Test like this, everything has to fall in place,” Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation. “At some stage, people are gonna and people are gonna come and we know that. These guys are maybe short of experience, they have played a lot of cricket and I can stand here and see that these guys responded pretty well under pressure.
“The credit goes to the entire team and it was pleasing to see. When you win a series like this, we talk about scoring runs and 100s, but it is important to take 20 wickets to win a Test. The way bowlers took responsibility was pleasing to see.”
Kuldeep Yadav made his India Test debut back in 2017 - incidentally, in Dharamshala - but since then, he had played only eight Tests till 2023. But for the first time in his career, India decided to give him a proper run and it reaped dividends with the left-arm wrist-spinner grabbing 23 wickets in the England series apart from a major contribution with the bat. Rohit Sharma revealed that bringing Kuldeep into the setup was a gradual decision that was made over a period of time.
“It was over a period of time that we had a conversation with Kuldeep, he's got a lot of potential and when the chips were down in the 1st innings, he bowled really well and after his injury, he came back and worked at NCA and he is putting a lot of effort and the most pleasing thing was his batting,” the Indian skipper added.
This series was also a coming of age for Yashasvi Jaiswal, who became the second-fastest Indian batter after Vinod Kambli to score 1000 Test runs. The way he dominated England bowlers throughout the series left a lasting impression, and the skipper was very proud.
“He's got a long way to go, amazing to be in this position. When a guy's got talent like that who can put pressure on the bowlers from the word go, there will be lots of challenges going forward. He is a tough guy and loves the challenges, clearly superb series for him and likes to score big,” Rohit said of Jaiswal.