IND Vs ENG: Yashasvi Jaiswal Aims To Emulate Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar In Ranchi Test
New Delhi: Run-machine Yashasvi Jaiswal will be eyeing to break Sunil Gavaskar’s 53-year-old record when India face England in the fourth Test of the ongoing series against England in Ranchi, which starts on February 23. The 22-year-old has been in the form of his life with two double hundreds already in the series. The Mumbai batter needs 229 runs more to surpass Gavaskar for most runs scored in a series as an Indian opener. The legendary batter currently holds the record with 774 runs which he scored against West Indies in 1971. Jaiswal, so far, has accumulated 545 runs from six innings.
Not just Gavaskar’s record, the Rajasthan Royals can also eclipse former captain Virat Kohli for most runs by an Indian in a Test series in the 21st century. In the 2014-15 Test series against Australia, Kohli had scored 692 runs. Notably, Kohli is not playing in the ongoing series.
The right-hander opted of the first two Test matches before withdrawing from the remainder of the series due to a family emergency. However, the exact reason for Kohli’s absence is yet to be known. Having scored a hundred on Test debut in West Indies, Jaiswal was looking for more opportunities.
Against England he grabbed the chance with both hands. He made 80 and 15 in Hyderabad in the first Test which India lost. Jaiswal came all guns blazing in the second game in Visakhapatnam with a majestic 209. India won the game by 106 runs.
In Rajkot, Jaiswal managed just 10 in the first innings before smashing his career-best of 214 not out and played a crucial role in India’s 434-run hammering of the Englishmen. Meanwhile, with his daddy hundreds in the series so far, Jaiswal became the third Indian batter to score successive double hundreds in Tests. He also became the first Indian left-hander since Gautam Gambhir 206 against Australia in 2008, to hit a Test double ton.
“In Test cricket you never know, I try to make sure I play as long as I can when I’m set. As all my seniors have said, when you are set, make it big and make it count. The way Rohit (Sharma) bhai and Jaddu (Jadeja) bhai played in the first innings really inspired me. The way they played session by session was incredible, the way they put effort motivated all of us,” he said after the third Test.