Opening batter Jaiswal will look to continue his great run in Test cricket as India gear up for must-win game in Sydney Cricket Ground
Yashasvi Jaiswal during his 84 on Day Five of the 4th Test against Australia in Melbourne on Monday. Pic/AFP
It’s been an interesting start to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s Test career. Since making his debut nearly 18 months back in the Caribbean, he has played 18 games — his first four overseas, the next 10 at home and the last four here in Australia. Form and injury permitting, his next six Tests too will be outside India — one in Sydney, five in England (assuming India don’t make the final of the World Test Championship). Within two years at the Test level, the left-hander would have played a bouquet of matches in the West Indies, South Africa, Australia and England.
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Dodgy pitches in South Africa tested batters of all ilk and Jaiswal was no exception, making 17, 5, 0 and 28 in the third and fourth matches of his fledgling career. When he was dismissed without scoring in the first innings in Perth, unfounded whispers about his (lack of) ability to adapt to unfamiliar conditions began to gather momentum. In the last month and a half, the 23-year-old has gone a long way towards preventing those whispers from snowballing into something more sinister.
Course correction at MCG
His second-innings 161 in Perth earned him enough breathing space to tide over efforts of 0, 24, 4 and 4 not out going into the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Even then, the fact that he had only four first-innings runs in three outings couldn’t be ignored. The Mumbai batter embarked on course correction at the revered MCG, breezing to 82 when he was run out following a mix-up with Virat Kohli.
Even though India were replying to Australia’s imposing 474, Jaiswal’s knock was typically free-flowing. There were creamy drives through the covers and down the ground, and when the ball was pitched short, he went deep into the crease to cut powerfully in a wide-arc between square third-man and cover-point. It was a further reminder of the quality that nestles in his lithe frame.
In the second innings, with India battling to save the Test, Jaiswal showcased a different side. Only once before, in 33 previous innings, had he scored at a slower rate when he faced more than 20 balls — against New Zealand in Bangalore on an overcast morning and a spicy deck, when he laboured to 13 off 63 balls (strike-rate 20.63). That came during India’s 46 all out, by a distance their lowest home total. The MCG second-innings tally was a lot more substantial, 84 off 208 in a little over five hours, at 40.38 per 100 balls negotiated.
At his choosy best
It was Jaiswal at his choosy best. He still played his strokes — there were eight fours — but he didn’t commit himself to attack until he was absolutely sure there was no risk involved. There were a couple of loose drives outside off when Mitchell Starc swung the ball away from him late, and one little phase when he tried to get on top of Nathan Lyon’s off-spin, but otherwise, he appeared impregnable when defending, a facet of his batting seldom witnessed hitherto.
His second half-century of the match took his tally of Test runs in 2024 to 1,478 from 15 matches, only behind Englishman Joe Root (1,556 from 17). It’s also the second most runs by an Indian in a calendar year, behind Sachin Tendulkar’s 1,562 in 2010. Not bad company to maintain for India’s leading scorer of the series, who will seek to start 2025 in the same fashion as he left the previous year behind.
1,478
Total number of runs scored by Yashasvi Jaiswal in 15 Tests last year, the most by an Indian
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