Yashasvi Jaiswal Shines with Century on Day One of Second Test Against England

Yashasvi Jaiswal reached the three-figure milestone with his hands raised, a gesture that was both joyful and relieving. Like Jude Bellingham of England and Real Madrid, the celebration was an expression of his feelings.

After being well-set and lacking in application in Hyderabad, where India lost to give England a 1-0 lead in this five-match series, the 22-year-old was among the batsmen criticized for their poor shot selection. But Jaiswal (179 at bat) delivered an innings of quality and assertiveness on the first day of the second Test here at the ACA-VDCA Stadium, combined with the application, patience, and determination needed to play a lengthy innings. At stumps, his second Test century lifted India to 336/6.

Yes, on the first day, bowlers had nothing to work with on the surface other than a few deliveries that kept low. And India was lucky to win the toss despite having a weak batting lineup. Nevertheless, recognition must be given where credit is due, and Jaiswal is deserving of it all.

The batters in the current lineup with more experience than him, including as skipper Rohit Sharma, didn't make much of an impact. James Anderson set Shubman Gill up with a couple of curved deliveries, but Gill prodded unnecessarily at a ball that nibbled away after seeming stable at first. Well-set too, Shreyas Iyer undercut a low-pitched Tom Hartley ball.

It's possible that India lost their way at 179/3. This, however, is where Jaiswal went on to establish his distinction. During his innings, he did more than just take advantage of anything errant and loose. In his undefeated 257-ball knock thus far, his ability to judge which ball to block and which one to let go has also shone out.

In the last session of the day, Anderson gave Jaiswal a challenging spell that concentrated on the off-stump and outside off-stump channels. With all his expertise and command of the reverse swing, Anderson had a chance to coerce the dynamic Jaiswal into making a mistake.

Yet the unflappable Jai­swal remained unwavering. He played Anderson out at that vital juncture, suppressing his attacking impulses for a little while, which was essential to India surpassing 300. The fact that Jaiswal was less nervous than Gill and Iyer was also a key component of his success.

In contrast to Gill and Iyer, Jaiswal did not commit many errors throughout the day. He attempted to sweep England's rookie off-spinner Shoaib Bashir early in the opening session, but it turned out to be a bit of a mishit. That was by no means a chance for England to catch up.

Specifically, Jaiswal performed a lot better than his peers this time.

It's possible that Iyer's dismissal offered England another opportunity. However, Jaiswal was in the zone and had help from rookie Rajat Patidar (32) after reaching three figures with a massive six over long-on off Hartley.

Jaiswal's century, which he shared with Patidar for the fourth wicket, was essential in setting up a substantial score that would threaten the Bazballers.

A batter deficient

In "keeping in mind the duration of the series and the amount of cricket he has played in recent times," the hosts substituted bowler Mukesh Kumar for Mohammed Siraj, who was released from this Test, and Kuldeep Yadav for the injured Ravindra Jadeja.

of a pitch this flat and dry, Mukesh's inclusion in the playing XI rather than that of off-spinner all-rounder Washington Sundar is definitely puzzling, but it also indicates that India will be short of batters in this encounter.

As the game drew to an end on Friday, leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed and captain Bashir received some unexpected presents in the form of bad strokes from Axar Patel and local lad KS Bharat.

But the greatest gift to India on Friday was Jaiswal.

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