Promising India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal joined an elite club when he became only the fifth batsman in the world on Friday to score 1,000 runs or more in Tests in a calendar year before turning 23 during the second Test against New Zealand at Pune.
The 22-year-old showed great composure on Day 2 of the match. He scored 30 runs off 60 balls before getting out. This innings pushed his total runs in Tests for 2024 past 1,000, marking a significant milestone in his career.
The performance at Chinnaswamy made Jaiswal an elite member of a cricketers’ club. The list includes Garfield Sobers, 1,193 runs in 1958, Graeme Smith, 1,198 runs in 2003, AB de Villiers, 1,008 runs in 2005 and Alastair Cook, 1,013 runs in 2006. Jaiswal also became the second batter to reach 1,000 Test runs in 2024, joining England’s Joe Root.
Finally, Jaiswal’s innings were brought to an end by New Zealand’s part-time spinner Glenn Phillips. He bowled a sharp turning ball first up in the over. He just manages to edge an attempt at defending off the face of the bat to Mitchell in the slips.
Having said that, Jaiswal has scored 1,007 runs in 10 Test matches this year at an average of 59.23. His strike rate is at 75.88, indicating his attacking batting style.
After Jaiswal’s wicket, India were in a spot of bother at 70 for 4. Mitchell Santner from New Zealand took advantage of that as he went on to take as many as seven wickets and gave away just 53 runs in 19.3 overs. As a result, India managed just 156 runs and New Zealand got a heavy 103-run lead.
New Zealand responded with an attack from the word go and smacked India’s spinners. The fightback for India came when they managed to remove four New Zealand batters. Keeping them in the hunt for an ultimate victory and series-saving act.
As far as Yashasvi Jaiswal is concerned, the merit mentioned above tells how talented he is and also how much excitement Test cricket can bring to Indian perspectives.
ANI