India’s rising star Yashasvi Jaiswal played a spectacular knock of 179 unbeaten on day one of the second Test against England on Friday in Visakhapatnam to lead India’s scoring that was halted by England bowlers at the start. Jiswal’s brilliance gave India a huge stimulus after they found themselves in a troubling situation with England taking out top batters of India in the form of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer for low scores in a relatively quick succession. 

Jaiswal held his nerve to play a nervy innings, braving England’s bowling attack led by largely spinners in the form of Tom Hartley and debutant Shoaib Bashir. He led India’s resistance with some prodigious shots coming off his bats. India recorded a shaky start after their skipper Rohit Sharma decided to bat after winning the toss. 

India are already reeling from the absence of their top players KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja who were ruled out of the second game due to their respective injuries. Their main batter Virat Kohli is already out for the first two games due to personal issues. Speaking on his knock, Jaiswal stated that he wants to double it up. This was Jaiswal’s second Test century as he got to the three-figure mark with a cracking six to long-on off Tom Hartley. 

“I had it in my mind, I had to play it session by session. I was just trying to make sure if they are bowling well, I just wanted to get through that spell. Initially, the wicket was damp and there was spin and bounce, with a bit of seam. However, I wanted to convert the loose balls, and play till the end. I would love to double this up, and play till the end for the team. I want to recover well for tomorrow now,” Jaiswal said.

“The pitch played a bit differently initially, and in the afternoon it was a bit damp and then it settled. With the older ball, there was a bit spin and bounce. And I just kept thinking how to manage the shots, what I can play and how I can play till the end as Rahul sir and Rohit bhai, they kept giving me messages, like need to convert it big and make sure you are playing till the end,” Yashasvi added.