An unfortunate run out denied Shubman Gill a well-deserved century on Day 4 of the third India vs England Test match, being played at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot Sunday. But Gill's departure in the 64th over for 91 off 151 opened the doors for Yashasvi Jaiswal to complete his 200. (Scorecard | Match Blog | Cricket News)
Jaiswal brought up his third century on Day 3 of the match but the 22-year-old was forced to retire hurt, a back spasm. He was 104 off 133 balls, his second century of the series, when good sense prevailed and allowed the youngster to retire on Saturday.
A good night's sleep and Jaiswal returned with renewed vigour. The left-handed opener from Suriya in Uttar Pradesh raced to his 150 in 192 balls, with a single in the 83rd over bowled by James Anderson.
That seemingly calm first post-lunch over was followed by a flurry of sixes as Yashasvi Jaiswal took on Anderson for three back-to-back maximums. With 10 sixes in the innings, and 20 in the match, Jaiswal broke a few Indian sixes records. Navjot Sidhu and Mayank Agarwal had hit eight sixes against Sri Lanka in 1994 and Bangladesh in 2019, respectively, for the joint-most sixes in an innings by Indian batters.
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The record for most sixes by an Indian batter in a Test series previously belonged to Rohit (19 against South Africa in 2019). Jaiswal is almost certain to play the remaining two matches of the ongoing India vs England Test series.
For what's worth, it's only the second time in his illustrious Test career that Anderson was hit for three sixes in an over. The first was Australia's George Bailey at the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) ground during the 2013-14 Ashes series Down Under.
Jaiswal reached his 200 with a single off the first delivery in the 97th over bowled by Joe Root. He then hit the third and fourth ball for maximums, thus equalling the world record for most sixes hit in an innings. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram had hit 12 maximums during his epic 257-run knock against Zimbabwe in 1996. Only nine batters have hit 10 or more sixes in a Test innings.
But Jaiswal didn't get the chance to break the record as Rohit Sharma waved from the stands, signalling the declaration. With 430/4 declared (98 overs) in their second innings, India set England a 557-run target. The declaration, however, happened after some confusion. At drinks break, with India on 412/4 (97 overs), Jaiswal and Sarfaraz walked off probably seeing the captain changing his spikes. But an animated Rohit 'shooed' them back. Sarfaraz Khan then hit Rehan Ahmed for a couple of sixes and a four and helped India increase their lead over 550 runs.
Jaiswal, in the process, became only the third Indian to hit back-to-back double centuries after Vinod Kambli (224 vs England in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai; 227 vs Zimbabwe in Delhi during the 1992-93 season) and Virat Kohli (213 in Nagpur and 243 in Delhi against Sri Lanka during the 2017-18 series.
The youngster also became only the second left-handed Indian batter, after Sourav Ganguly (534 runs vs Pakistan in 2007), to post 500+ runs in a Test series. Jaiswal has scored 545 runs in three matches in the series.
Jaiswal was unbeaten on 214 off 236 with the help of 14 fours and 12 sixes, and was involved in an unbroken 172-run stand in 156 balls for the fifth wicket with debutant Sarfaraz Khan, who hit back-to-back half-centuries (61 in the first innings, 68 not out in the second).
Meanwhile, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reportedly was on his way to Rajkot.
England won the first match by 28 runs in Hyderabad, then India levelled 1-1 with a 106-run victory in Visakhapatnam. After the Rajkot affair, the IND vs ENG Test caravan will head to Ranchi for the fourth match (February 23 to 27). England's tour of India concludes with the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala, starting March 7, 2024.
