With Yashasvi Jaiswal ruling the roost with his counterattacking batting against the Bazball-friendly England side on Thursday, veteran Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin is convinced that his Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammate has taken Test cricket like a fish to water. After Ben Stokes’ England mustered a below-par 246 in its first essay, Rohit Sharma’s Team India bossed the English bowlers with their fearless batting style on Day 1 of the 1st Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
While Rohit was stopped in his tracks after a crafty 24 off 27 balls, Jaiswal continued his batting onslaught as the southpaw slammed his first-ever half-century in India. An on-song Jaiswal ended the day unbeaten with Shubman Gill to reduce England’s lead to just 127 runs on the opening day of the Hyderabad Test. Reflecting on Jaiswal’s brilliant performance on Day 1, veteran spinner Ashwin compared the India opener to power-hitter Rishabh Pant.
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‘I am seeing Rishabh Pant’: Ashwin after ‘JaisBall’ show
“He (Jaiswal) had a great time in the IPL, had a wonderful start in first-class cricket. I am quite enjoying it. I am seeing Rishabh Pant there. His fearless cricket is serving him well. Yashaswi has not put a foot wrong, he has taken to Test cricket like a fish to water,” Ashwin said after India ended Day 1 by posting 119 for one in 23 overs.
Jaiswal joins elite company
Leading India’s bold reply against England, opener Jaiswal smashed 76 off just 70 balls while Gill chipped in with 43-ball 14. Opener Jaiswal creamed nine boundaries and hammered three sixes in his entertaining knock against England. The Indian opener also became the third batter to cross the 70-run mark for India on Day 1 after batting second in a Test. Before Jaiswal, the list only featured Gautam Gambhir (95* vs Zimbabwe) and KL Rahul (75* vs West Indies).
‘A 100 will put us in the driver’s seat’
After bowling 21 overs and picking three wickets, Ashwin said that India will be in the driving seat if a batter gets to a century on Day 2 of the 1st Test against England. “It was pretty interesting in the first session, maybe there was a bit of moisture. Because of the early moisture, there was enough speed. Then it slowed down. Not enough speed to carry through to the slips. 240 was a very very good competitive total. Thought 30-40 runs more than what we would have liked. Someone making a hundred tomorrow will put us in the driver’s seat,” Ashwin added.
