Yashasvi Jaiswal. Photo: Sportzpics for BCCI
Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a quality hundred to push India to 225 for three at tea on day one of the second Test against England here on Friday.
Shreyas Iyer (27 off 59) was the only batsman to be dismissed in the afternoon. The left-hander, who needed 89 balls to reach his half-century in the morning, took another 62 deliveries to complete his second Test century.
The 22-year-old had made 171 on his Test debut in the Caribbean last year.
Jaiswal and debutant Rajat Patidar (25, exit 47) were having tea.
The standout feature of Jaiswal’s innings was his ability to hit the ground and aerial shots with equal ease.
His fearless approach was best demonstrated when he stepped out to beat arm spinner Tom Hartley for six over long-on to reach three figures. He raised his arms in celebration to the Vizag crowd and the teammates applauded his special performance.
Jaiswal played a lot of cuts off the spinners in the first part of his innings but turned to drives and lofted drives against them in the second session.
He mainly attacked Hartley, collecting three successive fours in the 45th over, including drives past the bowler and through extra cover. His inside-out shots were also a joy to watch, especially Joe Root’s six.
He shared a 90-run stand with Iyer, who again failed to capitalize on a start. It was no surprise to see Anderson employ the short ball tactic against Iyer, who was up to the task on the day.
However, he tried to cut one off Hartley and ended up under the edge of Ben Foakes, who took a sharp catch behind the stumps.
After his discharge, Patidar joined Jaiswal and felt comfortable from the start. He also did not shy away from playing the reverse sweep.
In the morning, England debutant spinner Shoaib Bashir got the prized wicket of Indian captain Rohit Sharma as the cautious hosts reached 103 for two at lunch.
Shubman Gill (34 off 46) looked good before James Anderson left him behind with a beauty.
India expectedly decided to bat first on flat ground and made three changes to their starting XI, with Patidar, Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar bringing in KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj respectively.
The opening pair of Rohit and Jaiswal were found guilty of throwing away their wickets in Hyderabad and batted in a sedate manner especially in the first hour of play, amassing just 40 runs in 16 overs.
England opened the bowling with their only pacer in the playing eleven, Anderson and off-spinner Root. Anderson was accurate and economical in his opening spell, conceding just six runs in five overs.
The surface had minimal help for him, but the 41-year-old still made things tough for Rohit by targeting his stumps. It was very unlike Rohit not to go for his shots and his innings ended without a boundary.
The India captain finally fell in the 18th over when off-spinner Bashir got one to turn sharply and Rohit flicked it straight to Ollie Pope at leg slip. Jaiswal, on the other hand, showed a much more positive intention.
He used the sweep shot sparingly and achieved most of his boundaries with the cut shot.
Jaiswal hit a full toss from Bashir for the first six of his innings before reaching his half-century with a four through point.
Gill was outwitted by Anderson in his second spell as the experienced pacer got one that came slightly straight off the off-stump to take the batsman’s outside edge.
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First print: February 2, 2024 | 3:30 p.m IST