England Test: Yashaswi Jaiswal fires 100, pushing India's lead
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Rajkot: In third-Test against England, Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a century, the third one in his seventh Test appearance, to end the day at score 196 for 2. Jaiswal was backed by Shubman Gill (65 batting, 120 balls), together adding 155 runs, PTI reported.
Jaiswal shifted gears all of a sudden in the final session. Having reached 35 off 73 balls, he peppered the field with powerful strokes to bring up his second century of the series and third overall in his career.
Jaiswal retired after scoring 104 from 133 balls after back spasms forced him to do so. But by then, he had already scored nine fours and five sixes.
On Saturday, England's Ben Duckett called India's Yashasvi Jaiswal a "superstar in the making" but said his side deserves credit for inspiring players in the opposition camp to bat aggressively in Test cricket.
Mohammed Siraj (4/84 in 21.1 overs) was brilliant with his yorkers to tail-enders, while Kuldeep Yadav (2/77 in 18 overs) compensated brilliantly for Ravichandran Ashwin's unfortunate withdrawal with two quick wickets in the morning session.
However, it was Joe Root's indiscreet reverse ramp off Jasprit Bumrah, which Jaiswal pouched with less than a second's reaction time, that turned the tables.
"That shot was not on, and it became a turning point," Siraj said at a post-match press conference.
Rohit Sharma's captaincy was spot-on, and the manner in which he tweaked Jasprit Bumrah's field position at long-on to get Ben Stokes dismissed off Ravindra Jadeja (2/51) spoke volumes about his acumen.
On Sunday, India would be looking to take a lead of at least 425, if not 450 and have at least 125 overs to bowl out England. With no Ashwin available, India would need a cushion of more overs on a deck that is still good for batting.
