On a nice batting surface, six Indian wickets fell, but Yashasvi Jaiswal‘s wasn’t one of them. In fact, the 21-year-old youngster was the only batter who stood tall to take India to 336/6 at stumps on Day 1 against England as the others around him squandered starts. On the opening day of the 2nd Test at Visakhapatnam, Jaiswal notched up his 2nd Test century and held the innings together, puncturing England’s plans of breaking the door open. With 17 boundaries and five sixes, Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 179 at stumps and would be hoping to double it up when play resumes on Day 2.
Jaiswal’s innings was all class. He was neither overawed by the occasion, nor did he take it for granted. Instead, he took off from where he had left off in the first innings at Hyderabad and slammed one of the most courageous centuries by an India youngster in recent memory. And as his innings unfolded with brilliance, so did the ensuing reactions, with cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and the flamboyant Suryakumar Yadav at the forefront of the congratulatory messages.
Tendulkar put up a classy tweet that said ‘Yashasvi-bhava’, while Suryakumar took to his Instagram story to share a boomerang of Jaiswal celebrating his century accompanied by the caption ‘Khel gaya‘ (Played well). There were more. Irfan Pathan joined in as he tweeted: “Ghar na hone ki wajah se Maidaan mein sone wala ladka aaj bade khiladiyo ko maidaan mein jaga bhi raha hai bhaga bhi raha hai. Well played Yashasvi Jaiswal” which loosely translates to ‘The boy who slept on the ground is now making the bigshots run around the ground’.
Tributes pour in from the Caribbean
Even the legendary Ian Bishop sent out a special message on X, kind of a throwback: “Ironic that the ICCU19CWC is taking place right now in South Africa where he announced himself to a wider audience 3 years ago. Well played Yashasvi Jaiswal… a 2nd Test century.”
During the course of his innings, Jaiswal oozed shades of Sehwag, playing in the same gear after a watchful start and reaching his century with a six. ‘Jaisball‘ indeed. The expressions on the face of the entire dressing room at that moment – when Jaiswal took off his helmet a21nd unleashed a special celebration – said it all. From selling paani-puri on the streets of Mumbai to now registering his highest Test score, Jaiswal is making the right noise at all of 21 years of age.
Jaiswal added crucial partnerships – 90 with Shreyas Iyer and another 70 with debutant Rajat Patidar – but unlike them carried on till the final ball of the day was bowled. Tomorrow, as India look for the elusive 500-run mark, Jaiswal remains key and would hope for a solid show of support from India’s last recognised batter in Ravichandran Ashwin. Jaiswal’s 179 not out follows his innings of 171 against West Indies last August on his Test debut, to go with scores of 57 in his next dig and the 80 he scored in Hyderabad last week.
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