IND vs ENG second Test | Rohit’s men showed they had the depth and resilience to bounce back

Despite injuries and missing key players, India's resilient team achieves a significant Test victory in Visakhapatnam.

The mood must have been sombre in the Indian team’s dressing room after the first Test ended in Hyderabad. India had lost after taking a lead of 190.

That was not all. K.L. Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja got injured. The two key men who did well in the Hyderabad Test were not available for the second. And there was no Virat Kohli. And, of course, there was no Mohammed Shami, either. Rishabh Pant was still recovering from his injuries from the terrible car accident.

So India took the hour-long flight from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam without nearly half of its best possible eleven. It was facing an England team that had been playing a confident, attacking brand of cricket and winning in all parts of the world, the victory at Hyderabad adding to its aura.

But, this Indian team is unlike the previous ones. It has the ability to bounce back after a chastening defeat. Only a month ago it defeated South Africa inside two days on a seamers’ paradise at Cape Town, right after an innings defeat at Centurion.

This Indian team has the depth and resilience to overcome the loss of the biggest stars.

Remember Brisbane 2021? So many players were injured that India had to look at its net bowlers to put together an eleven. Captain Kohli had already left to attend the birth of his first child. And it was a series in which India was bowled out for 36 in the first Test.

Yet, India won in Brisbane, breaching Australia’s fortress at the Gabba and that remains India’s greatest Test victory.