Zaheer Khan was all praise for the youngster after Rohit Sharma’s Team India dominated England on Day 1 of the 1st Test.
Attack is the best form of defence. England’s Bazball instinct failed to trouble an upbeat Indian side led by skipper Rohit Sharma as the hosts dominated Ben Stokes and Co. on the opening day of the 1st Test in Hyderabad. While veteran spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin skittled England to a below-par total of 246, youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal tormented the English bowlers with his counterattacking knock in the final session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Ticking all the right boxes on Day 1 of the Hyderabad Test, Team India can be in the driving seat of winning the five-match series opener. Thanks to Jaiswal’s brilliant knock on the opening day, Rohit and Co. are only 127 runs behind Stokes’ men in the 1st innings. Jaiswal smashed his first-ever Test half-century at home to help India finish ahead of the visitors on Day 1 in Hyderabad. Top-scoring for the hosts, Jaiswal was lauded by former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan after the end of the day’s play.
Zaheer explains why Jaiswal needs to be praised more
“That’s why he needs to be praised more. He got full marks for whatever questions were asked of him. If someone is a good front-foot player, the bowler tries to make him play more off the back foot. If someone does not use his feet, you try to bowl a little slower as a spinner and force him to use his feet. If you have all those attributes, you can put pressure on any bowler. We got to see some amazing shots off both the front and back foot. The positive mindset was evident from the first ball,” Zaheer told Colors Cineplex.
India dominate England with ‘JaisBall’
Jaiswal batted at a strike rate of 108.57 and remained unbeaten on 76 off 70 balls. The Indian opener added 80 runs for the first wicket with skipper Rohit, who was dismissed for 24 off 27 balls in the 12th over. Joined by premier batter Shubman Gill, opener Jaiswal powered India to 119-1 in 23 overs. Jaiswal fired three sixes and nine fours in his explosive knock against the Bazball-friendly England side.
Did you know?
Left-hander Jaiswal completed his half-century in 47 balls with a boundary off debutant Tom Hartley. Interestingly, Jaiswal joined former India opener Gautam Gambhir and teammate KL Rahul in an exclusive club. The Indian southpaw is the third batter for the Asian giants to score the most runs in the first day’s play after batting second. Gambhir smashed 85* against Zimbabwe in 2005, while Rahul scored 75* against the West Indies in 2016.
