Dharamsala (TIP)- A wristy flick against Shoaib Bashir’s flighted off-break raced to the midwicket boundary and took Yashasvi Jaiswal to 46 runs. The moment passed by quietly but a significant milestone was achieved nonetheless with that lovely shot against the turn – Jaiswal’s run-tally for this series reached 701.
Before March 7, Sunil Gavaskar, incidentally in the commentary box at HPCA Stadium, was the only Indian to have amassed 700-plus runs in a Test series – he did it twice against West Indies (1971 and 1978-79). On day one of this fifth and final Test, Jaiswal also became the fastest Indian to 1000 Test runs (in terms of matches, having played 9 Tests), eclipsing a record belonging to Gavaskar and Cheteshwar Pujara (11 Tests each). In terms of innings, only Vinod Kambli (14 innings) has got to 1000 faster than Jaiswal’s 16.
A look at the list of 25 batters who have reached the 700-run mark in a series shows that luck doesn’t play a role here. From Don Bradman’s table-topping 974 runs to Viv Richards’s 829 – the names speak of quality, class and the rare ability to make a series their own. Each member of this elite group has had a great impact on the sport as a whole and India will hope Jaiswal manages to keep the tradition going.
The ease with which Jaiswal, 22, peppered the boundary on Thursday was in sync with the oomph he has exhibited all through the home series. Yes, a rush of young blood eventually resulted in Jaiswal’s stumping off Bashir after making a breezy 58-ball 57, but these are minor concerns about a left-handed batter who there’s a lot to like about.
Again in his innings on Thursday, what came through was the clarity about his template. Not until the eighth over did Jaiswal hit a boundary, moving along steadily to six runs off 25 balls even as Rohit Sharma got the scoreboard moving with a few sumptuous strokes. But once Bashir was brought on, Jaiswal was able to flick the switch ever so quickly and hit the rookie off-spinner for three sixes in an over. Jaiswal’s six-hitting prowess is worth harping on. In nine Tests, he has already smashed 29 sixes, showing a fearless propensity to take the aerial route. It’s a skill he has honed by playing in the IPL, where he has ownership of the record for the fastest fifty (13 balls) in addition to a turbo-charged 124 off 62 balls. As Rajasthan Royals’ high-performance director Zubin Bharucha said recently, Jaiswal has spent many hours working on his power-hitting game. Source: HT