As he demonstrated on Saturday, a left-hander is capable of both tearing apart an attack and playing in the traditional sombre style. On Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, during the third day of India vs. In England’s test cricket match, Yashaswi Jaiswal of India celebrates after making a century.
In the youthful Indian opener, there are two Yashasvi Jaiswals living in harmony with one another. Jaiswal, the quintessential Test batsman, was on display up until that point in the innings’ 27th over when he decided he had had enough of teasing and burst against James Anderson to swing the match in India’s favour. He has the most compact defensive style of any young player in the Indian team, and he bats with the confidence of a player who has faced thousands of balls in his early career. The way everything lines up in his bat flow, from the head to the feet, conveys the muscle memory of a confident veteran batsman and the assurance of someone who has been there, done that a million times.
Nevertheless, Jaiswal has the ability to become the T20 beast he is when the moment suits him. However, he has done a remarkable job of combining the two. When he attacks the ball he thinks is attackable, his bat-flow is impressive to watch even as he defends compactly. He throws everything into it. The bat descends in a blur from the top and rounds through completely, hammering the ball hard even when it crashes along the ground, much like a tennis player ripping the forehand in rallies.The two Jaiswals were in different phases during the third day of play, and now is the time to focus on the crucial play.
Around the time Anderson spun to screech out an LBW appeal against a tentative Shubman Gill, something snapped in Jaiswal. 16 overs after Rohit Sharma had fallen, it was the 27th over, and England was applying more pressure. Ben Stokes jumped in with his attacking fields as Anderson began to move the ball – not much, but enough to get him excited. Replays revealed that Gill was caught trying to nurdle the ball on the crease, but the ball was just missing leg-stump.
