Yashasvi Jaiswal starts ENG tour with sublime century, dressing room erupts: ‘Most exciting young player in the world’
Yashasvi Jaiswal continues his love affair with England. The left-handed batter smashes a century in the first Test of the five-match series.
Yashasvi Jaiswal loves playing against England. The left-handed India opening batter continued his love affair with Ben Stokes and co as he smashed a century on Day 1 of the first Test of the five-match series at Headingley, Leeds. The 23-year-old completed his ton off 144 balls in the second session of the first day of the five-match series. Jaiswal brought up the landmark off the bowling of Brydon Carse, much to the delight of the entire Indian dressing room.
As soon as he took a single to complete the landmark, Jaiswal jumped in delight. Shubman Gill, who was at the other end, also couldn't stop applauding while the likes of KL Rahul, Prasidh Krishna and Gautam Gambhir in the dressing room took notice of the youngster's achievement.
As a result of this century against England, this is now his third score of more than 100 against the Three Lions. Earlier, in January-February 2024, Jaiswal had smashed more than 700 runs in the five-match series against England. Jaiswal now has five Test hundreds to his name as he continues to go from strength to strength in the longest format.
Jaiswal also battled hard against cramps in his hands. Twice, he called for the physios. However, he continued to battle it out and his hard work and grit paid off.
This is Jaiswal's first-ever trip to the UK, and he has started the high-profile series with a bang. It must be mentioned that Jaiswal had also smashed a century in the first-ever Test Down Under.
If there were any nerves for India heading into the contest against England without the services of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Jaiswal helped settle them all as he stitched together a partnership of 91 runs for the opening wicket along with KL Rahul.
Jaiswal was the more attacking batter between the two as he kept dispatching the loose deliveries for boundaries. The left-handed batter was not hesitant in playing the big booming cut shots. He did not even think twice before bringing out the drive straight down the ground.
In the first session, India lost the wickets of KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan in a jiffy. However, Jaiswal kept the Indian innings on track along with captain Shubman Gill. The duo displayed their own version of attacking batting as they did not let any bowler settle at the crease.
As soon as Ben Stokes introduced Shoaib Bashir into the attack, Jaiswal let loose as he went after the spinner and had no second thoughts before going aerial.
Michael Atherton, who was on commentary at the time, praised Jaiswal's ability to play against spin, saying, “He is an amazing player of spin. He doesn't hang back.”
“He is one of the most exciting young players in the world today. Yashasvi Jaiswal announces himself in England with a wonderful 100,” he added.
Jaiswal was eventually dismissed by England captain Ben Stokes. The left-hander walked back for 101 runs.
Rahul, Jaiswal script a new record
With the opening stand of 91 runs, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal registered India's highest opening partnership at Headingley. The duo broke the record of Sunil Gavaskar and K Srikkanth, who had put on 64 runs for the opening wicket in 1986.
This was Rahul and Jaiswal's second 50+ opening partnership after the 201-run stand they put on together against Australia in Perth in November 2024.
Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and asked India to bat first. The visitors handed a debut to Sai Sudharsan. However, the left-hander failed to leave a mark in the first innings as he was dismissed for a duck.
Karun Nair also returned to the Test playing XI after eight years. He last played against Australia in 2017 in Bengaluru.
