At one point, Jaiswal even had the nerve to tell Australia’s bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc that he was slow
(L-R) Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli (Pic: @BCCI/X/AFP)
For a cricket fan in his/her fifties, who has often watched India capitulate in Australia, today was a sweet day. It was Yashasvi Jaiswal’s century first, (and boy how he reached there!), his 150 next, Nitish Reddy’s breathtaking assault against the Australian bowlers, Virat Kohli’s hundred that came after what seemed like an eternity, and that perfect icing on the cake- three quick wickets as Australia began its chase of 534 runs.
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But let’s talk about Jaiswal first. In the build-up before the tour, Australian media had marked Jaiswal as the future of Indian cricket and Jaiswal didn’t take long to show why he is rated so highly. Together with KL Rahul, he began slowly and scraping at first. There were several instances when he was beaten, but he didn’t allow that to shake his resolve. At one point, he even had the nerve to tell Australia’s bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc that he was slow.
Imagine saying that to Starc after you are beaten and then following it up with a boundary. But this is what the new breed of Indian cricketers is made of: they are confident, flamboyant and no-nonsense generation. Never shy of playing with fire, they give it back to their opponents. His six to complete the century was a clear indication of this fearless approach: the ball was short, going above his head and Yashaswi Jaiswal simply got down and glided it to the boundary. No more the case of nervous nineties.
As wickets rather quickly at the other end, he stood calm and composed, collecting runs as and when he got opportunity and went on to score what is called a Daddy Hundred. Yashaswi Jaiswal is indeed the Chosen One and it was quite satisfying to see King Kohli watching him with much adulation.
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Virat Kohli hadn’t hit a century in a long time (over a year) and was disappointing in the home series against New Zealand. His start was nervy, as usual, but once found his feet, the fluent cover drives and straight drives were out. There is no better sight in world that watching Virat on song. This was not his best knock, but it came in under pressure of a billion expectations.
At one point, it seemed like Virat Kohli will take hours to reach his hundred. But then out came Nitish Reddy, the debutant from Hyderabad and started swishing his bat like a sword, hitting boundaries against wayward Marnus Labuschane. This was enough to inspire Virat Kohli, who had been kind of accumulating runs for a while. Suddenly he switched gears, smashing a straight six off Nathan Lyon and reverse-swept him past the slips to get into the nineties. Even as Sanjay Manjarekar blabbered Kohli should now collect singles and reach the century mark, Virat swept Lyon with confidence.
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The ball seemed to have touched the boundary ropes, elyding the diving fielder and an unsure Virat Kohli waited for the umpire to signal boundary that would give him his long due hundred. A much relieved Virat Kohli blew kisses in the direction of his wife Anushka Sharma and threw hands in the air to celebrate. The fiery man who punched air and mouthed abuses that rhymed with Ben Stokes is no longer there, but Virat Kohli is still quite animated and expressive and a joy to watch.
But the best part of the day was yet to come. As India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah declared the innings with 25 minutes to play, Australia was set a mammoth target of 534 to win. Bumrah was already sensing the kill, having watched cracks opening up in the pitch that also showed signs of uneven bounce. After two loosening deliveries, the third one found the target- McSweeny’s pads right in front of stumps. The umpire had no hesitation in ruling him out and the crestfallen McSweeny didn’t even try to challenge the decision.
Out came Pat Cummins, Australia’s captain who is a premier bowler but not a much with a bat. His intent was clear- play out remaining time and shield the likes of Marnus Labuschane and Steve Smith to fight another day. The move was heroic- after all, Cummins had sent down over 30 overs, marshalled the resources and spent the entire day in 34-degree Celsius temperature. The body and the mind were both worn by the fatigue. His resistance didn’t last long and Pat Cummins offered a sharp low chance to Virat Kohli, who made no mistake pouching a low catch.
Marnus Labuschagne had bowled several bouncers to Indian batters, but Siraj chose to bowl full length to him. The ball was swinging, keeping low and it was only a matter of time. Labuschane fell to Bumrah, who almost always bowls with his tails up. An unsure Labuschane offered no shot to an incoming delivery and the umpire had no issues ruling him out. Labuschane sought to overturn the verdict but the television replays clearly showed the ball was crashing into the stumps. The day had ended with Australia on 12 for 3, and the smell of revenge for so many years of ignominy.
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