Yashasvi Jaiswal, the opening batsman for India, received praise by former England captain Michael Atherton for scoring a double century in the recently concluded second Test match between India and England. Yashasvi Jaiswal seemed as if he was on a mission as he not only played fearless cricket but took calculative risks against a quality England side.
Atherton gave the young Indian opener credit for his “drive and desire” as well as his capacity to overwhelm the competition with massive shots. Jaiswal helped the hosts win the Vizag test by 106 runs in the first innings by smashing 209 runs off 290 balls against England.
Jaiswal hit 19 boundaries and seven sixes during his knock. Interestingly, Jaiswal’s class that day was demonstrated by the fact that no other Indian batter scored more than 35 runs in that innings.
That was a stunning innings – Michael Atherton lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal
Atherton recently told Sky Cricket that the combination of his passion and determination to become a great cricket player allowed him to knock some extremely powerful sixes.
“This will be the first time that English supporters have seen him really at any lengths in the middle and boy did he play some shots. Some of the sixes he hit were very very powerfully struck so that combination of the drive and desire to make himself into a great cricketer,” he said.
“But also that kind of ability to take the game on in the T20 style which all the players have now, I thought that was a stunning innings,” he added.
Yashasvi Jaiswal got the balance between defence and counter-attacking style- Nasser Hussain on his excellent technique
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a magnificent knock, was also praised by former England captain Nasser Hussain for his excellent technique and ability to both attack and defend. The former English captain became stunned by Jaiswal’s unceasing dominance of the spinners.
Hussain stated on the same Sky Sports program:
“He’s got that counter-attacking style as well and I think that’s what he got spot on. He got the balance between defence that first morning he realized how good a pitch it was.”
“When he needed it, he put the spinners, in particular, under immense pressure. He was hitting towards the off-side, whether it was with the spin or against the spin. His free-flowing bat arc was magnificent,” he elaborated.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is now the series’ top run scorer with three matches remaining in the Test series. In four innings, the left-handed batter has scored 321 runs at an average of 80.25. His next opportunity to be seen in action will be on February 15 during the third test in Rajkot. After the first two Tests, the two teams are level at 1-1.