From one Mumbai batter who has been a shining star of India’s past to another Mumbai batter who might be India’s future, Yashasvi Jaiswal received some golden compliments from none other than Sachin Tendulkar after the young batter’s century provided the backbone for a very strong third innings effort at the Oval.
Following Jaiswal scoring 118 in the third innings, to bookend his tour performance with centuries in his first and last innings, then man after whom the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is named took to social media to shower praise on the 23 year old southpaw.
Writing on his X account, Tendulkar wrote: “Outstanding 100 by Yashasvi on a sporting pitch that tested courage and concentration.”
Jaiswal’s was the first century of this entire Test that had been dominated by bowlers to that point, with the youngster scoring 51* before stumps on day 2 and then going on to convert his start into a big one with some excellent batting.
Akash Deep earns plaudits for first half-century
Jaiswal was given plenty of support from Akash Deep, who came in as a nightwatchman but then astounded with some remarkably solid batting when it came to the morning of the third day. Akash’s 66, his highest Test score by a distance, came batting at number four, and his efforts in crafting a century partnership with Jaiswal didn’t go unnoticed by the player who made that number four slot so iconic.
“Full marks to Akashdeep too, batting with heart and determination under pressure,” wrote Tendulkar. “Keep fighting, India.”
A pair of fiery half-centuries by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, as well as a useful 34 from Dhruv Jurel, ensured India were able to set a target of 374, which made them favourites despite England’s history of successfully chasing down targets in that range – including in the first match of this series.
While Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley frustrated India through the late evening session and brought up a 50 opening partnership, Mohammed Siraj struck in the very last over of the day, bowling a searing yorker that trapped Crawley and gave India a crucial wicket.
England still need 324 runs, whereas India likely need just 8 wickets to win following Chris Woakes’ shoulder injury. With the backing of Tendulkar, can Shubman Gill’s men pull it off?