Yashasvi Jaiswal became the third Indian batter and first left-hander from the country to score successive double hundreds in Tests.
Rajkot: Yashasvi Jaiswal took inspiration from Rohit Sharma (131) and Ravindra Jadeja’s (112) centuries in the first innings as he recorded his second consecutive double hundred in the series on Sunday against England in the third Test. Riding on Jaiswal’s 214 not out in the second innings and knocks from Rohit and Jadeja, India defeated England by 434 runs, their biggest in terms of runs in 577-Test history. With this win, India also take a 2-1 series lead in the five-match series.
Having got out for just 10 in the first innings, Jaiswal was determined to make it big in the second. Despite losing captain Rohit cheaply, the youngster took his time in the middle before opening his arms. In fact, his onslaught against veteran James Anderson caught everyone’s eye the most. “The way Rohit (Sharma) bhai and Jaddu (Jadeja) bhai played in the first innings really inspired me. The way they played session by session was incredible, the way they put effort motivated all of us,” Jaiswal said after the game.
While Shubman Gill played the anchor’s role, Jaiswal upped the tempo in the final session of Day 3 to reach his third Test hundred. However, he couldn’t continue for long due to a back spasm and had to retire hurt. On Day 4, Jaiswal completed his unfinished business, taking India in a safer periphery.
The left-handed attacking opener scored unbeaten 214 off 236 balls to steer India to a commanding 430/4 declared in their second innings, setting England a mammoth target of 557 runs. It was his second double hundred in just six matches, having made his debut against the West Indies in July 2023.
Asked about his plan while batting, Jaiswal stated he tried to play session by session and also had to overcome a back problem en route the knock. “It was pretty difficult for me because initially I wasn’t getting runs. So had to play the session, and get set. That’s when I felt I could score runs.
“After a while my back was not good. I didn’t want to go out (of the field) but since it was too much, I went out. Today when I came, I wanted to make sure that I take the game forward and bat till the end,” he said. The left-hander said as an opener his job is to give the team a good start.
“I felt there was something in the wicket and the ball was hard. For me, it is important for me to give teams a good start so it was important for me to play long,” Jaiswal said. “I tell myself whenever I get set, I need to score well because you can get out anytime. My seniors have said to make it count.”