Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra lauded Yashasvi Jaiswal after the youngster impressed on the second day’s play against the West Indies at Windsor Park, Dominica on Thursday. The rookie batter, who is making his debut, showed all the patience to score his runs against the hosts.
Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 143 at stumps as India strengthened their grip, ending the day’s play at 312-2, extending their lead to 162. The southpaw showed all the composure in the first session, when run-scoring wasn’t easy as the team added 66 runs in 32 overs.
The left-hander became the 17th Indian batter to score a century on Test debut, joining the likes of Lala Amarnath, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Shreyas Iyer.
Aakash Chopra reckons he won’t be too surprised if Jaiswal goes on to score a double century as well.
Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Let’s talk about Yashasvi Jaiswal first and the way he played. He is already playing on 143 and I won’t be too surprised if he scores 200 as well because this player knows how to convert hundreds into double hundreds.”
The renowned commentator added the youngster showed both aspects of his game. Jaiswal showed patience in the first session and then played freely in the next two sessions.
“He showed both aspects of his game. He can take risks – use his feet, play the reverse sweep, he has the might to do that – but he can give himself time as well and stay at the wicket for a long time. So this player also knows the method to play retro Test cricket.”
In fact, Jaiswal had attempted a reverse-sweep shot in the final over of the opening day. However, he showed all the patience on the second day’s play, which Chopra reckons shows he is a long-term prospect for the team.
“What tells us more about Yashasvi Jaiswal? Does that reverse sweep define him or the time he was giving himself, where he was defending and was standing in the middle when runs were not getting scored for a long time?”
“I personally feel that the modern-day cricketer has it in his DNA to play big shots, to take risks, they easily play unconventional shots. So that reverse sweep shows his mentality for sure but the second day’s play showed me that he can be a long-term prospect.”
Jaiswal will want to continue his domination against the West Indies bowlers and will aim to score a double century on the third day’s play.
