Yashasvi Jaiswal struck an unbeaten 179 as India closed 336-6 on day 1 of the second Test match against England at Visakhapatnam.
The 22-year-old hit 17 fours and 5 maximums to continue the brilliant form he displayed in the first Test, but the hosts will be furious by the number of soft dismissals on a very good surface.
With India in a great position at 301-4, England finished the day brilliantly as Axar Patel and local boy KS Bharat gifted the tourists cheap wickets after cutting short balls to the man at point.
While the rest of the Indian lineup got themselves in and were unable to capitalise, Jaiswal showed maturity and skill way beyond his 22 years to crunch his 2nd Test ton and hold the innings together.
The left-hander showed no sign of the ‘nervous nineties’, reaching his century with an enormous six over the leg-side off Tom Hartley.
He was watchful in facing the returning James Anderson- his 17 overs costing only 30 runs- though he remained ruthless against England’s spin quartet and was quick to pounce on loose deliveries when they arrived.
Anderson, 41, marked his 22nd (yes you read that right) consecutive year as a Test cricketer by dismissing Shubman Gill with a beautiful ball that kissed the outside edge and was caught by Ben Foakes.
Joe Root failed to back up his impressive showing from the first Test as he leaked five runs an over, but Somerset’s Shoaib Bashir showed promise on debut.
He finished with figures of 2-100 from 28 overs- dismissing Axar and captain Rohit Sharma.
Rajat Patidar also impressed on debut in hitting a composed 32, however Rehan Ahmed (2-61) sent him packing when a forward defence unfortunately rolled back onto the stumps.
The game is evenly poised, yet given the inexperienced nature of England’s attack (Anderson aside), Stokes and his charges and will be quietly happy.
Dismiss Jaiswal and the very-capable Ravi Ashwin early on day 2 and it’s into the bowlers…





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