Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has heaped praise on Jayant Yadav after the all-rounder left one and all impressed with his impressive display on his debut in the second Test against England.

The Haryana player was a surprise inclusion ahead of senior leg-spinner Amit Mishra but fully justified the team management’s decision. At first, the right-handed batsman provided the hosts with very important lower-order runs by scoring 38 and added 64 runs for the eighth wicket with Ravichandra Ashwin that took India to 455. He followed it with an even bigger contribution when his fantastic piece of fielding saw Haseeb Hameed getting run out – which started the collapse for the visitors as from 51 for 1, they were reduced to 80 for 5.

“He (Yadav) batted sensibly. His partnership with Ashwin was a major factor in taking India past 400. In bowling, Yadav has a nice easy action, nice follow through. He also took a wicket and contributed in the field too. If anybody does that in the first Test, he certainly belongs to the highest level,” Gavaskar told NDTV.

After losing captain Alastair Cook cheaply, the visitors were coasting comfortably as they were 51 for 1. But the run out changed the scenario and Gavaskar felt it was the turning point.

“Outstanding work all around. Ground fielding has improved by leaps and bounds in recent times. Run out of Hameed was a turning point. England was doing good till then,” Gavaskar added.

The debutant capped off a fine day by dismissing the first Test centurion Moeen Ali cheaply. At first, the on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena gave his decision in batsman’s favour but Yadav and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha were convinced that they had their man. Both persuaded their skipper to go for the review and were absolutely right.

“India’s use of DRS has been a mixed bag so far. Wicketkeeper’s role is crucial in taking a call as he is the one who sees the line where the ball is pitching,” Gavaskar concluded.