Yashasvi Jaiswal was utterly ruthless in India’s third ODI victory against Afghanistan on Saturday. The result also saw India complete a 3-0 clean sweep.
Jaiswal got his second ODI ton in the 29th over of the run chase. Usually, players slow down the tempo after reaching a century or try to accelerate, only to eventually lose their wicket.
But Jaiswal had other plans. After smacking a six over extra cover to get his hundred, the India opener went a notch higher. He got his six in the first delivery, and then Mohammad Nabi responded with a dot. Then Nabi sent a poor delivery, Jaiswal went low to sweep it to short fine for a four and then smashed a six to wrap up proceedings in style.
Speaking after the match, Jaiswal was in a good mood, revealing that he ‘really enjoyed’ batting during the run chase. “Yes, I really enjoyed. Initially, I got some runs initially in powerplay, so I just wanted to keep going and play till the end. So I was really enjoying it.”
During his knock, Jaiswal looked like he was in a different world, as he treated every single delivery with treat. He also thanked the support staff for their help and communication. The performance was also a good sign as he converted a good start into a century.
“Yes, I think I’ve been lucky, so I’m just trying to convert if I get the start. As I have seen like in sports and in cricket, especially that when it is your day, make it count. So I try to do that. Because a lot of experience I had recently that I was trying, but things were not going in my way. But I was very determined today that I just need to keep my focus in and just keep trying to rotate the strikes. And if I get in, so I’ll just make it count,” he said.
‘Rohit bhaiya is always helpful’
Also, batting with Rohit Sharma helped as the pair stitched together a dominant opening partnership. Rohit registered 79 off 69 balls and was in good form, taking on Rashid Khan with ease. Jaiswal also revealed Rohit’s valuable advice, which helped him in a tough phase during the match.
“Of course, Rohit Bhaiya is always helpful. And I always ask questions, a lot of questions to him and try to implement in the game itself. Today as well, when I was getting dot balls, so I was asking what should I do then. He was telling me, just try to rotate the strike and the intent should be there. So I was keeping my intent and rotating the strike. So that really helped me. And yeah, I always enjoy being with him, going and playing under him. Everything is like, it’s just amazing,” said Jaiswal.
The first innings also saw Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi get his maiden ODI ton. Shahidi registered 102 off 131 balls, consisting of 13 fours and a maximum.