In order to make ends meet, the young person used to sell pani puris, a deep-fried treat stuffed with potatoes, onions, or chickpeas. However, this week, he or she was seen thrashing England’s bowlers about the pitch.
With his unbroken 214 against England in Rajkot, Jaiswal, 22, made history by becoming the third-youngest man to hit two Test double hundreds. He had previously scored 209 against England in Vizag. The only people to accomplish it earlier were Vinod Kambli and Sir Don Bradman, both of whom were 21.
His twelve sixes in an innings matched Wasim Akram’s dozen maximums for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 1996, making it the most by any Indian player in Test cricket history and the joint best by anyone.
Following deliveries from James Anderson, Jaiswal struck three sixes in quick succession: a full toss that whipped over the fine leg, a full ball that blasted over extra cover, and a wide ball that pumped back over the bowler’s head.
While statistics are one thing, consider this another: With his maiden century coming from a knock of 171 against the West Indies in Dominica in July, Jaiswal became the first batter from India and the seventh overall to turn his first three Test hundreds into scores of over 150.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s test history
Seven matches; thirteen innings; eighty-six runs; three hundreds; 71.75 average; 68.99 strike rate.
In the groundsman’s tent, Jaiswal stays
However, his story also revolves heavily around his persona. Jaiswal had travelled to Bombay as a child to pursue his ambition of being a cricket player, but his uncle’s house was too small, so soon he had nowhere to reside.
He was allegedly forbidden from sleeping at the dairy shop where he used to work, and his next residence was a canvas tent. He sought safety in a groundsman’s tent on Azad Maidan, where he worked odd jobs to supplement his income and pedalled those pani puris with his uncle.
Coach Jwala Singh then took Jaiswal under his wing, gave him a place to live, and gave him cricket tips. When Jaiswal spoke of Singh in 2019, she added, “He is the reason I have reached here.” Now, the batter has raised himself even further. As high in the game as one of his sixes was his standing.
To portray Jaiswal as merely a boundary hitter would be incorrect, though, as he possesses a good all-around game that includes a strong defensive component. After he ground his way to 29 from 64 balls, he unleashed a six-fest in his double century in Rajkot.
It was only then that things really picked up, with Anderson hitting a hooked six and then two straight fours. After reaching fifty from 80 balls thanks to consecutive maximums off Hartley over long-on, he needed just 42 balls to complete his century thanks to a cover-driven four off Mark Wood. When Jaiswal was forced to retire injured on 104 due to a back spasm, it looked as though his innings were gone. However, the following day, he made a further 110 runs, which featured those three consecutive sixes off Anderson and back-to-back maximums down the ground off Joe Root’s off-spin. Throughout his knock, we also witnessed skillful dabs, rasping drives, strong sweeps, and reverse sweeps.
Michael Vaughan, a former England captain and current BBC pundit, has compared Jaiswal to Virender Sehwag, who destroyed bowlers from the opening spot for India in all formats between 2001 and 2013.