It was during the last IPL season that Yashasvi Jaiswal went up to his Rajasthan Royals opening partner Jos Buttler asking to be allowed to take first strike. The left-hander was making a comeback after being dropped following a hat-trick of poor scores at the start of IPL 2022. Jaiswal went 4-6-4 against Punjab Kings’ pacer Sandeep Sharma in the first over. Or ‘bang bang bang’ as Buttler, one the more feared T20 ball strikers recalled.
Some batters get edgy
It was during the last IPL season that Yashasvi Jaiswal went up to his Rajasthan Royals opening partner Jos Buttler asking to be allowed to take first strike. The left-hander was making a comeback after being dropped following a hat-trick of poor scores at the start of IPL 2022. Jaiswal went 4-6-4 against Punjab Kings’ pacer Sandeep Sharma in the first over. Or ‘bang bang bang’ as Buttler, one the more feared T20 ball strikers recalled.
Some batters get edgy waiting and want to face the first ball. Others just want to get on with things. It’s a tactic that has its own risks; quite often in the sub-continent, the new ball swings only for an over. Whatever thoughts Jaiswal processed, taking early initiative has paid rich dividends for him.
Delhi Capitals’ left-armer Khaleel Ahmed was at the receiving end earlier this season, when the 21-year-old took him down with five boundaries. On Thursday in Jaipur, Chennai Super Kings’ left-arm pacer Akash Singh had to face Jaiswal’s onslaught, going for three fours in the first four balls of the innings.
Jaiswal’s early takedowns are fast becoming a feature of his powerplay dominance. No other batter has scored more boundaries (12) in the first over this year.
This early striking has been a key difference between Jaiswal now and the one seen in IPL, previously. He’s already scored more runs (304 at SR 147.5) in eight matches than what he managed in each of the previous three editions. With this high intent, Jaiswal has aced the powerplay phase, scoring 186 runs, behind only Faf du Plessis (201).
Against CSK, Jaiswal and Buttler were able to race to a rapid start getting 64 runs in the first six, 40 of them coming off the left-hander’s blade with six fours and two sixes. Powerplay runs are proving to be a differentiator on pitches slowing down in the middle overs.
"Yashasvi batted really well. It was important to go after the bowlers and I think he took calculated risks,” said CSK skipper Dhoni. CSK coach Stephen Fleming too called Jaiswal's 77 (43b, 8x4, 4x6) that set up RR's 32-run win ‘a great innings’ that created ‘the momentum’.
Timing and improvisation
Jaiswal has been able to raise the ante without compromising on his core strength, that’s timing the ball. His back-to-back fours against Akash Singh off the first two balls of the innings were cover drives that would have made his childhood hero Sourav Ganguly proud. On other days like against Khaleel where the bowler went short without enough force, Jaiswal went ariel from the beginning. On Thursday, he kept driving the full-length deliveries and waited for the field restrictions to be lifted before depositing Ravindra Jadeja for a six over the backward point boundary with a reverse sweep.
In a video posted by Royals, Buttler is shown creating a box around the batting crease and demonstrating to his younger batting partner, his bat swing against full-length balls. Then, Jaiswal reproduces those shots in the nets, getting a nod of approval from Buttler. He is now counting the gains in the middle.
"I am speaking with the seniors, getting all the information about the venues before deciding on what shots I can play,” Jaiswal said on Thursday. “I am trying to be clear with my mind and keep trying to take the brave option to score.”
“During the off-season, Jaiswal has spent time at the RR academy, hitting thousands of balls,” said RR skipper Sanju Samson. “We have a couple of pajjis (seniors) throwing at him and their shoulders have almost dislocated now. We are proud of his success and there is a lot more to come from him.”
Jaiswal has been outscoring Buttler, who has been happy to play second fiddle. With the England batter’s 360-degree ability, RR wouldn’t be too worried, knowing a belligerent performance could be just around the corner. Together the left-right batting combine are scoring at a faster clip (370 runs, Avg 52.85, RR 9.73) than any other opening pair this year. Only du Plessis-Virat Kohli (504 runs) have scored more.
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