On Day 1 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, young Indian batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal stood out with a brilliant century. Despite other Indian batsmen struggling to score, The Left-handed opener remained unbeaten on 179 as India ended the day at 336-6.
This was Jaiswal’s second hundred in a Test match, following his 171 against the West Indies in his debut game last year. The Indian opener punished England’s spinners, hitting 17 fours and five sixes, helping India finish on par. This is a great track for batting, which means India needs to score more than 400 to feel confident.
Jaiswal’s 179 on Day 1 is the third-best score by an Indian batter against England, putting him ahead of former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who scored 175 in Manchester in 1990. Karun Nair holds the record for most runs scored against England in a single day, with 232 at Chepauk in 2016. Sunil Gavaskar is followed by Nair, who scored 179 on the oval in 1979.
After the first day’s play, Yashasvi Jaiswal spoke about his approach to pacing his innings against England in the second Test. He stated that he wanted to make significant runs for the team on the second day following a frantic first day. He also added that Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid provided him with the confidence to turn his start into a big innings.
“I wanted to play it session by session. When they were bowling well, I just wanted to get through that spell. Initially, the wicket was damp and there was spin and bounce, with a bit of seam. However, I wanted to convert the loose balls and play till the end. I would love to double this up and play till the end for the team. I want to recover well for tomorrow now”.
“The pitch played a bit differently, in the morning it was a bit damp and then it settled. With the older ball, there was some bounce. Rahul sir and Rohit bhai kept giving me the confidence and told me to convert this into a big innings, and stay till the end,” Yashasvi Jaiswal said.
Without Yashasvi Jaiswal’s spectacular hundred, India would have been in serious trouble on the first day of the second Test. The opening batsman nearly single-handedly kept the Indian innings alive, expertly linking attack and defense.
Jaiswal transformed his second Test century into a huge hundred, following his 171 against the West Indies on debut. If he can bat for a session or two on Day 2, India will have complete control of the Test.
