Yashasvi Jaiswal broke the shackles when it mattered the most. After a memorable start to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, with a century in the first Test and an 87 in the second, Jaiswal struggled in his next six innings, notching up only 101 runs.
But at The Oval on Saturday, he proved why he is rated so highly. Making the most of three dropped catches, Jaiswal raced to his sixth Test hundred (118, 164b, 14×4, 2×6) as India set England a target of 374, after putting up 396 in the second innings.
IND vs ENG Highlights, 5th Test Day 3
Before Ravindra Jadeja picked up another fifty and Washington Sundar spiced up the third day of the fifth Test with a 46-ball 53, adding 53 runs for the last wicket, it was Jaiswal and nightwatcher Akash Deep who set the tone.
Pursuing what could be the highest run-chase at the iconic venue, England looked fairly comfortable before Mohammed Siraj cleaned up Zak Crawley off the last ball of the day, leaving England at 50 for one.
As the sun shone bright, Jaiswal forged a 107-run stand for the third wicket with Akash (66, 94b, 12×4). Having lost two wickets, it was a test of patience for the Indian batters, and with Jaiswal holding firm, Akash frustrated the England bowlers as the runs flowed.
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On the way, Akash went on to score his maiden international fifty and also became the third Indian nightwatcher — after Chetan Sharma and Amit Mishra — to score a Test half-century. Coincidentally, back in 2011, Mishra had scored 84 against England at the same venue.
At a crucial juncture of the match, Akash stepped up and built a long partnership, which eventually put India in the driver’s seat.
By the time Jamie Overton broke the stand, with Akash offering a leading edge that carried to point, India was on course.
And, with the butter-fingered England fielders dropping six catches, Jaiswal flexed his muscles. Playing every ball on its merit, Jaiswal brought up 82 of his first 100 runs behind square, and significantly, his second hundred of the series also came with a nudge behind square.
England, however, started the second session well as Shubman Gill was trapped in front off an in-swinging delivery by Gus Atkinson. As a dejected Indian captain walked back to the pavilion, he also fell 20 runs short of Sunil Gavaskar’s record tally of 774 runs — the most by an Indian batter in a Test series.
Karun Nair, coming on the back of a first-innings fifty, struggled before gloving a pitched-up delivery from Atkinson, which bounced unexpectedly. But those dismissals did not deter Jaiswal as he added 44 runs for the sixth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja and eventually brought up his fourth century against England.
As he sprinted towards the Micky Stewart Pavilion and raised his bat, Jaiswal’s innings also resembled the mindset of the Indian team, which has shown tremendous fighting spirit in coming back from difficult situations.
Josh Tongue (5 for 125) put the brakes on Jaiswal’s innings as the opener picked out third man while attempting an uppercut. But with Jadeja and Washington around, India remained on top.