“We can’t depend on just one bowler” – Rohit Sharma tells there was lack of support for Jasprit Bumrah in the 1st Test against South Africa.

Team India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, expressed disappointment over the lack of support for lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion. While praising Bumrah for his impressive bowling, Rohit acknowledged that the other bowlers tried hard, but unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned.

The first Test ended in India’s defeat on Day 3, with South Africa securing a significant first-innings lead of 163 runs. In their second innings, India faltered, folding for 131 in 34.1 overs, resulting in an innings and 32-run loss. Dean Elgar’s notable 185 and Marco Jansen’s unbeaten 84 were pivotal for South Africa, who posted 408 in their first innings.

Rohit emphasized in the post-match press conference that India conceded too many runs and highlighted the need for a collective bowling effort, stating that relying on only one bowler for wickets is not a sustainable strategy.

Rohit Sharma said “This wasn’t a 400-run wicket. The way the wicket was behaving, we conceded a lot of runs. It happens. We can’t depend on just one bowler. It’s important that the other three bowlers also do well. The way the opposition bowled, there’s a lot to learn from that, Bumrah bowled well.”

All he wanted was a bit of support from the other end, which he didn’t get. That happens. All the other three bowlers were trying very hard, bending their backs, but it just didn’t work out. It didn’t happen the way we would’ve wanted to. But again, games like these teach what you need to do as a bowling group. Hopefully, they understand what went wrong and try and come back stronger in the next game.

Bumrah ended with figures of 4/69, while Mohammed Siraj contributed with 2/91, and the remaining three bowlers managed just one wicket each.