Vizag Test: Jaiswal's marathon 179* saves day for India

Prameyanews English

Published By : Anirudha Mishra | February 2, 2024 5:24 PM

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Visakhapatnam, Feb 2: Young, aggressive, confident , flamboyant  and extremely talented Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal on Friday hit another international century. 

The left-handed opener stood tall and was the lone ranger with a marathon unbeaten 179 runs innings. 

With his valiant efforts, at stumps on Day -1, India salvaged some pride with an unfinished first innings score of 336/6 in 93 overs at Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, here.

Jaiswal faced 257 balls, hit 17 boundaries and five towering sixes, as he carried his bat throughout the day. The 22-year-old on his return to pavilion was given a standing ovation from the home crowd. He was applauded by the opposition camp as well.

With his 179* innings, Jaiswal also eclipsed the 171 he made on debut in West Indies in 2023. 

But baring Jaiswal, there was no other Indian batter, who could stay long at the wicket or score a half century. The next-highest score was Shubman Gill's 34. 

England spinners and veteran pacer James Anderson did a decent job grabbing six wickets on a Day 1 track, on which batting appeared rather not a very difficult task.

When umpires called off play for the first day, Jaiswal was accompanied at the crease by Ravichandran Ashwin (not out on 5 in 10 balls.

Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma (14), Shubman Gill (34), Shreyas Iyer (27), debutant Rajat Patidar (32), Axar Patel (27) and keeper Srikar Bharat (17), all got good starts. But just could not get going for long. 

Debutant English spinner Shoaib Bashir, who joined the squad after a visa-delay, on his first day in Test cricket, trapped the big fish Rohit Sharma for 14. The Indian skipper closed the face on an off-break from the debutant and tucked his leg glance straight to Ollie Pope at leg slip, who took a regulation catch.

Perhaps, it  was the moment young Bashir might be dreaming of, his maiden Test wicket. With a skilful delivery, he outfoxed experienced Rohit, sending him back to the pavilion and giving England the first breakthrough they needed desperately. When Rohit departed, India were 40/1 in 17.3 overs. 

But unfazed by his skipper's early dismissal, Yashasvi began to mount a comeback, putting the English spinners under pressure. Sensing the need for experience, Stokes summoned the ever-reliable James Anderson back into the attack. 

Seasoned Anderson, who replaced Mark Wood in this Test, responded emphatically, dismissing Shubman Gill, who departed  scoring 34 off 46 balls just before the lunch interval.

With two wickets in their kitty, England were with a  renewed sense of optimism. Gill's dismissal set the stage for an intriguing battle in the subsequent sessions. But it was Jaiswal, who continued to carry on despite wickets tumbling regularly at the other end.

Visitors England, equipped with the luxury of three spinners, saw Ben Stokes orchestrating a shrewd rotation of his slow bowlers. The quartet of Joe Root, Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and debutant Shoaib Bashir, kept applying pressure on the Indian batting line-up and stifling their scoring opportunities.

It would be interesting to see how Ashwin and Jaiswal face recharged English bowlers on Saturday first session, when conditions would be favourably too for veteran Anderson to use his loads of experience and morning advantage to test India.

If India survive the first session, then any score in excess of 450 in the first innings will be a good effort. Indian top order barring Jaiswal, failing again to put on board a tall first innings score, may be a real bother for the team management.

On the other hand, if England restrict India below 400 and then return with a 400 plus total, it would surely double India's woes.

Remind you, India despite a 190 runs lead in the first innings in Hyderabad, lost the series opener by 28 runs. Since India are still without Virat Kohli in this Test too, a good first innings score will be the first priority for the home side on Saturday.

Brief scores at Stumps Day 1: 

India 336/6 in 93 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 179 not out, Rehan Ahmed 2/61, Shoaib Bashir 2/100) against England.

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