Former England batter Owais Shah feels Yashasvi Jaiswal should be proud after his knock of 73 runs against England in the first innings of the fourth Test match at Ranchi. Shah reckons this innings will be very helpful for Jaiswal going forward.
Jaiswal, who has already scored two double centuries in the ongoing series, continued his rich form on Saturday. The left-hander played out a difficult opening spell from England’s veteran pacer James Anderson and then was able to capitalize.
The southpaw scored eight fours and one six in his fine knock. After this knock, Jaiswal became the fifth Indian to cross the 600-run mark in a particular series after Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Sardesai and Rahul Dravid.
Owais Shah said on Colors Cineplex, “He would be disappointed but he should feel quite proud as well with this knock because it wasn’t that easy to bat on this pitch. The ball was moving decently and Anderson was taking an examination, especially with the new ball.”
“However, he left that spell and also played straight. He got one or two outside edges as well but they went along the ground. So he played out that dangerous spell and then played his shots. This innings will be very helpful for him going forward,” the former England batter added.
Lauding Jaiswal’s temperament, Shah said the real test of Test cricket is to play shots selectively.
“Every batter who plays Test cricket has shots. That’s why they have reached international cricket. However, the exam of Test cricket is that you have to play your shots selectively. You read the conditions and play accordingly.”
Further hailing Jaiswal’s patience at the crease, Shah continued his praise, “If the full ball is moving, you say that you won’t play the drive and will score runs off shorter deliveries. It’s a game of cat and mouse, the batter wants to play the drive but he stops himself and chooses the shots he can play. That’s why this was a fantastic innings from Yashasvi Jaiswal because he batted thoughtfully.”
Despite Jaiswal’s efforts with the bat, England have put themselves in front in the fourth Test as India are 219-7, still trailing the visitors’ score of 353 by 134 runs.
