A week after his maiden ODI hundred, Yashasvi Jaiswal cracked his maiden SMAT hundred for Mumbai. (BCCI)
Overlooked from India’s T20I set-up for a year after he was part of the World Cup-winning squad, Yashasvi Jaiswal made a statement hundred in only his second game back for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy during a tall chase against Haryana in Pune.
Opening the batting in a 235-run chase in the Super League stage, Jaiswal waltzed through the gears to rack up a 48-ball hundred to ease Mumbai’s innings. The century marked his fourth hundred in 120 T20 games in professional cricket and his maiden century for Mumbai in the SMAT. He had previously slammed a century for India against Nepal and cracked two tons for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
Despite carving shots all around the ground at the DY Patil Academy, Jaiswal only smoked one six in his knock that ended soon after he reached his ton. The swashbuckling left-hander smeared 16 fours to pummel Mumbai past the target in only 17.3 overs, marking the second-highest chase in the tournament’s history.
The 23-year-old, who has already cemented himself as opening mainstay in India’s Test squad, Jaiswal’s chances have been limited in the white-ball set-up. A member of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad where he was the back-up opener to stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Jaiswal has not featured in a T20I for 15 months since his last in Sri Lanka in July last year.
In a recent public appearance, Jaiswal spoke about a dream to represent in the home T20 World Cup, due to begin in Mumbai on February 7. Jaiswal currently does not feature in India’s T20I scheme of things, with Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson seen as the three openers.
“My dream is to play T20 World Cup but I try to focus on my game and will wait for my time,” Jaiswal had said during the ‘Agenda Aaj Tak’ conclave.
In Visakhapatnam last week, Jaiswal stepped up in the absence of captain Shubman Gill to slam his maiden ODI century. Jaiswal got to the mark in 111 balls as he powered India’s chase in the decisive third ODI against South Africa in Visakhapatnam. The 23-year-old already has seven centuries in Test cricket and one in T20Is. This was only Jaiswal’s fourth appearance in ODIs though, a format in which he has had to wait to get a foothold in.
Jaiswal has then become the sixth Indian to have scored centuries in all formats of men’s cricket and the 32nd overall.
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