AND JAIS LIKE THAT… A BIG TON

India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates his century on Day One of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam yesterday. Pic/PTI

The least experienced of the three Mumbaikars in India's top four put his hand up on Friday, setting himself up as the glue that held the innings together at the ACA-VDCA Stadium. Yashasvi Jaiswal had looked a gift horse in the mouth in the first innings in Hyderabad, but he wasn't going to let England off lightly yet again. In a stirring display of character, the left-hander danced to his highest Test score, his monumental unbeaten 179 the bedrock of India's Day One tally of 336 for six.

Marathon innings

As wickets fell around him, some to indiscrete strokes and others to slice of misfortunes, Jaiswal held firm for six hours, thwarting English designs on a surface where the odd ball is beginning to keep low, although whatever turn there was, wasn't alarming on the first day of the second Test.

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Jaiswal strung together useful partnerships for the first five wickets, but only ranging between 40 and 90, suggesting that several batsmen didn't kick on after getting their eye in. England plugged away and were eventually rewarded with two late, cheap wickets in the form of Axar Patel and KS Bharat, debutant off-spinner Shoaib Bashir doing the bulk of the bowling and the seasoned James Anderson probing as ever, extending Shubman Gill's lean patch by nicking him off after the No. 3 had promised much.

Rohit Sharma won what could turn out to be a significant toss and, perhaps mindful that he had lost chunks of middle-order experience, was entirely becalmed during his 68-minute stay, going into his shell uncharacteristically. But Jaiswal batted like a dream, picking off two boundaries in the second over of the match from Joe Root and continuing to bat aggressively without chancing his arm or going into overdrive.

Gill, Iyer flatter to deceive

Gill was pleasing on the eye while making 34 in his most fluent Test knock in the last few months, and Shreyas Iyer looked the part during his 90-run stand with Jaiswal, which was ended when he went back to cut first Test hero Tim Hartley and only managed an under-edge to a ball that scooted through, Ben Foakes completing a terrific low catch.

Debutant Rajat Patidar was completely at home, assured in defence and decisive in strokeplay. The confidence of recent runs in the bag and familiarity against the turning ball were allies as he matched the equally fluent Jaiswal until he was undone by the top-spin leggie Rehan Ahmed procured, his defensive poke only resulting in the ball rolling back on to his sticks.

Jaiswal carried on undeterred, setting aside bouts of discomfort through cramps, driving powerfully through the covers and down the ground, and sending the ball deep into the stands when he opened his shoulders and struck it aerially. It's to him and Ravichandran Ashwin that India, who rested Mohammed Siraj and brought in Mukesh Kumar in a surprise move, will look for more runs on the morrow.

Brief scores
India 336-6 (Y Jaiswal 179', S Gill 34, R Patidar 32; R Ahmed 2-61, S Bashir 2-100) v England