On most nights before a game Yashasvi Jaiswal listens to Celine Dion’s chartbuster soundtrack from the movie Titanic, “Every Night in My Dreams.” Whether he stuck to his tradition the night before the Visakhapatnam Test or not, he certainly composed a knock straight out of his dreams. It was near flawless and pivotal to his team’s cause, helping them from crashing onto an iceberg and drowning into the seas, steering them to relatively safe shores with an undefeated 179, more than half of India’s first-day total.
It is his most influential knock yet. The pitch was flat, but the slowness made stroke-making difficult. England’s spinners were callow; one was a debutant, the other two had a combined experience of three games, but they bowled diligently. to keep India’s progress under check. The total of 336 for six is not formidable on this pitch, but the reason India reached this far only due to the 22-year-old’s application and hunger for runs. Every partner of his got a start, but departed without even a forty. The second highest score was Shubman Gill’s 34. But Jaiswal waged a lonely battle, repelling the waves and playing his strokes, ensuring that India remained in the game, and in the series, having lost the first Test in Hyderabad.
There is an arc of redemption too. In the first Test at Hyderabad, his first at home, Jaiswal squandered a hundred-scoring chance. Until he remained in the crease, Jais-ball seemed to have an edge over Bazball. With his aggressive white-ball influenced approach, the left-hander had all the answers to what England threw at him. But he spilled his wicket on 80 runs, rather than kicking on to score a hundred and taking the game away from England.
He did not let the opportunity go in Visakhapatnam. Jaiswal was as aggressive, but he ensured that he batted long. His strike-rate wasn’t as lofty as it was in the first Test. But the aggression and the intent were all intact. Having got out for 80, one thought he would slow down with three -figure mark in sight. But he went from 73 to 100 in just 20 deliveries, playing just 8 dot balls in the period and completing his hundred with a six. Like Virender Sehwag to cap an innings that was Sehwagian in nature.
This streak of intent was visible from the time Jaiswal walked into the national side during the tour of the Caribbean. So much so that in the lead up to the World Cup, he was in contention to make the cut. It looks a matter of time as the 22-year-old has all the making of a modern day all-format opener, one who can fit into any format without altering his game.
Years of sweat
It’s the reward of his hard work and determination to dream on against the odds. Packing his bags from the remote town of Suriyawan in Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai to chase his cricketing dreams an a raw teenager, staying in tents on pitches, selling paani puris and climbing walls of cricket clubs to watch matches, Jaiswal knows the value of sweat. And he continues striving for more success.
He is on a perennial quest to get better. He has bought a sprawling new apartment, has expensive cars in his garage and is a celebrity. But he remains committed to his first love, which is cricket. During the off-season, he packed off to the Rajasthan Royals academy in Talegaon, surrounded by wilderness. With the academy coach Zubin Bharucha, Jaiswal spends his time alternating between practising with red ball and white balls on tracks with different soil textures.
In the middle, depending on the format, Jaiswal is given the license to choose the shots he plays, without altering his game. There is still some work to be done on the leg-side game. But for now, it is not troubling him. With his elbow being ramrod straight, he isn’t as effective off his legs as other sub-continental batsmen, particularly southpaws.
Visakhapatnam: India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal being greeted by England’s Joe Root after the end of play on the first day of the second cricket test match between India and England, at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, in Visakhapatnam, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar)
But he has other strokes prescribed in his textbook. Here, he brought out two kinds of drives that involved a lot of wrist-work. If the ball is pitched in the line of stumps, he would use his wrists to send it to the boundary between the bowler and the mid-on fielder. At other times, when offered the slightest of width, he would create room and use the wrists to drive with full force to the right of mid-on fielder. When they deliver it short and offer width, he would cut them fiercely.
Apart from the fact that Jaiswal faced more deliveries and spent more minutes in the middle on Friday, he didn’t do anything different from what he did at Hyderabad. When England’s inexperienced spinners came on, he didn’t waste an opportunity to belt runs. Even towards the end of the day, battling cramps in his arm, as Rehan Ahmed tossed one up, with Ben Stokes bringing in the fielders, he saw an opportunity to free his arms. With no second thoughts, he fetched his fifth six of his innings.
Coming of age
This was also an innings Jaiswal showed signs of coming of age. At a time where India’s batting line-up is going through a transition, nothing calms the dressing room as much as a young batsman assuming responsibility and translating talent into runs. Having watched the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KS Bharat squander their starts, Jaiswal never relented. It is a format that Jaiswal enjoys more than T20s. “I’d always say to myself that if I’m set, I make sure that I’m making it big and taking responsibility for the team. That’s why we enjoy red ball cricket a lot. Playing the longer format helps me improve my mental toughness which is really important because you are going to be tested in different situations against different bowlers. It’s a lot of fun,” Jaiswal once told The Indian Express Idea Exchange.
Fun he definitely had. Of course, there were moments where Jaiswal lived dangerously, offering a couple of half-chances while trying to cut close to the body. But those risks are part of his package. When the situation demands, his maturity, picking the right deliveries to attack on a placid track. It was an innings where Jaiswal found the perfect mix between attacking and defending, and picking the right bowlers to go after. And an innings that he might dream of playing every day.
****
Play out Anderson, attack the rest
James Anderson: 8 runs off 47 deliveries
Joe Root: 34 runs of 45 deliveries
Rehan Ahmed: 33 runs off 37 deliveries
Shoaib Bashir: 51 runs off 87 deliveries
Tom Hartley: 49 runs off 47 deliveries.
India v England - Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, India - February 2, 2024 India's Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates after reaching his century. (REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas) 
Visakhapatnam: India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal being greeted by England’s Joe Root after the end of play on the first day of the second cricket test match between India and England, at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, in Visakhapatnam, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar)
Share
