India vs England: Yashasvi Jaiswal slams maiden ton at home as hosts begin on strong note in Vizag

Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed a scintillating century as India got off to a strong start on the opening day of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 179, bringing up his maiden Test hundred at home and his second in the format as India reached 336/6 at stumps on Day 1 after electing to bat.

As It Happened | India vs England, 2nd Test in Visakhapatnam, Day 1

Left-handed opener Jaiswal went past his previous-best score of 171, which he struck on international debut against the West Indies, and will be setting his sights on a maiden international double hundred on Saturday.

England currently are leading the five-Test series 1-0 after a stunning 28-run victory in Hyderabad, where Ollie Pope (196) and Tom Hartley (7/62) helped the Ben Stokes-led visitors pull off victory despite conceding a 190-run first innings lead.

Unlike the series opener, Jaiswal made sure he converted his strong start into a big hundred but the other Indian batters failed to make the most of batting-friendly conditions.

The 22-year-old now has two hundreds and as many fifties to his name in only his 10th Test innings.
Jaiswal, whose special effort comprised 17 boundaries and five sixes, had R Ashwin (5) by his side at stumps.

India made 111 runs in the final session for the loss of three wickets including Axar Patel (27 off 51) and KS Bharat (17 off 23). For England, debutant Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed picked up two wickets apiece.

Debutant Rajat Patidar (32 off 72) played one on to his stumps while offering a forward defence to leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed. A total of 93 overs were bowled with four spinners in operation.

Trailing 0-1 in the five-match series, India would like to get to at least 500 on day two and then put pressure on the England batters on a pitch where variable bounce is expected to come into play from day three.

The odd ball kept low even on the opening day but conditions remained favourable of the batters.

However, the injury to Ravindra Jadeja has resulted in a longer tail, which will need to wag for India to get anywhere close to 500.

Veteran James Anderson, playing his first game since July last year, was the most economical and effective bowler for England, returning figures of 17-3-30-1.

However, England’s inexperienced spin attack, including debutant Bashir, Tom Hartley, Rehan and Joe Root, could not extract much out of the surface.

The 20-year-old Bashir was the pick of the spinners as he was able to generate more bounce due to his tall structure. The 6’4″ tall off-spinner got the prized wicket of Rohit Sharma in the first session before he had Axar caught at backward point towards the end of the day.

Jaiswal changed the tempo of the innings with his attractive strokeplay in the second session in which India collected 122 runs in 32 overs to reach 225 for three.

The youngster, who took 89 balls to reach his half-century in the morning, took another 62 deliveries to complete his second Test century.

Read | Ex-England international calls Yashasvi Jaiswal ‘most dangerous Indian batter’

The standout feature of Jaiswal’s innings was his ability to hit the ground and strike aerial shots with equal ease.

His fearless approach was best summed up when he stepped out to smash let-arm spinner Hartley for a six over long on to get to three figures.

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