The next big thing in Indian cricket is a crown of thorns. Ask Prithvi Shaw, or Shreyas Iyer, all Mumbai boys by the way, like Yashasvi Jaiswal who announced their arrival with hundreds on debut. The talent is never questioned. So grinding is the process of elimination in Indian cricket these days that anyone who wades through it to the top has to be special, if not a bit lucky. But this applause will live out its cycle. And pretty soon, Jaiswal will be on his own, trying to justify every day why he should open for India—easily one of the most difficult jobs in the world. And he knows that.
The first step towards declaring that he belongs to this league was not his hundred, but the astonishing patience with which Jaiswal played out the entire second day. Steady head, full face of the bat, long stride out, no gap between pad and bat, playing as straight as possible, coming down to the pitch of the ball—Jaiswal was almost boringly repetitive.
By stumps, Jaiswal had faced 350 balls, the most by an Indian in an innings on Test debut. The previous highest was 322 balls by Mohammad Azharuddin in 1984, during his 110 against England at Eden Gardens. Considering he had faced six 200-plus ball first-class innings before this one, Jaiswal clearly is primed for more such long hauls.
“Batting jaari hai. Will try to bat as long as possible,” were the first words Jaiswal spoke at this stage once stumps were drawn. “This is just the start of my career. I will try to take it as far as possible, and be as focused and disciplined as possible.”
Note Jaiswal’s clarity. He wants to bat ‘long’, which most would agree equates to scoring big as well. Bazball may have created a prizefighting option out of high-risk batting but in difficult conditions, dropping anchor and waiting for the right ball becomes a necessity. The pitch in Dominica warranted a similar approach. Not only slow, it offered sharp turn and bounce, asking batters to stay on the backfoot as much as possible. New batters found it downright challenging. Like Shubman Gill, who couldn’t cover the turn with his forward defense and edged Jomel Warrican. For the better part of his innings, Virat Kohli was defending, prodding and trying to keep down the awkward bounce.
{{/usCountry}}Note Jaiswal’s clarity. He wants to bat ‘long’, which most would agree equates to scoring big as well. Bazball may have created a prizefighting option out of high-risk batting but in difficult conditions, dropping anchor and waiting for the right ball becomes a necessity. The pitch in Dominica warranted a similar approach. Not only slow, it offered sharp turn and bounce, asking batters to stay on the backfoot as much as possible. New batters found it downright challenging. Like Shubman Gill, who couldn’t cover the turn with his forward defense and edged Jomel Warrican. For the better part of his innings, Virat Kohli was defending, prodding and trying to keep down the awkward bounce.
{{/usCountry}}Jaiswal struggled too. But he also exuded a calm assurance. Of course, he couldn’t have made it through without Rohit Sharma’s over-by-over counsel. “Throughout my innings, Rohit bhaiya was telling me how to play, which shots to go for, and from where to get runs,” said Jaiswal. “Before the game too he was telling me ‘you have to do it’. I also kept thinking about how to score, how to prepare mentally.”
As much as this India innings is about Jaiswal’s unforgettable debut, it can’t help but be a little about Sharma too. Before Iyer and Shaw had emerged Sharma, in the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series, announcing himself as the next big thing then with hundreds at Eden and Wankhede.
But soon enough, there came a time when questions used to be asked about how he had not stepped up after Tendulkar had left. On the other side of the table now, Sharma was visibly engrossed in guiding Jaiswal, passing him every piece of advice he had got from his seniors, and possibly a few more anecdotes about life and the funny things that can happen to you despite scoring a hundred on debut.
On the personal front, this hundred must have meant something to Sharma as well. There was never a time Sharma’s designation as captain, rather than his batting form, justified his name being the first on the team sheet.
But the absence of overseas hundreds—always a cornerstone of quality—against his name was also jarring. Till he finally wiped clean that slate at the Oval in 2021. This was a more refined innings, in that Sharma had to temper his instinct and switch gears to ensure Jaiswal didn’t feel any nerves. India were batting slow, but rarely have they looked so sure about it.
Another point of view would probably highlight how India were probably batting against themselves, resisting the temptation of flaying West Indies’ mediocre bowling on a pitch that isn’t scarce in India.
Instead, they gained a different perspective about their opening potential, by batting time and hence rewriting some records. The highest opening stand for India in Tests outside Asia. Check. The most balls faced by an opener in an innings on Test debut. Check. The highest opening partnership against the West Indies. Check. All these and Jaiswal is still not done. As he said, “Batting jaari hai.”