Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy: Yashasvi Jaiswal hits 411 runs in the series, says 'want to make innings bigger'

London: Fast-rising young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal finished the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in exactly the same manner he began — a century filled with panache and grit that’s become the character trait of most youngsters from the Virat Kohli era.

Having gone off the boil a bit since that brilliant 101 off 159 balls at Headingley, the second innings at The Oval was 23-year-old Jaiswal’s last attempt to show what a big-match player he is and why he’s considered one of the future batting stars of India along with skipper Shubman Gill. Yes, he had hit two half-centuries — 87 in the second Test and 58 in the fourth game — but two ducks, a single-digit score and meagre contributions of 28 and 13 in the other games didn’t sit well with his own ambitions.

The Uttar Pradesh-born Mumbai-cricketer Jaiswal is a naturally aggressive player who likes to go for his shots whenever the ball is in his hitting arc. While they look stunning when they come off, especially the cut shots over point or behind square, the ramp shots to bouncers, the uppish drive through covers, his flashy technique comes into question when they don’t pay off. Like Rishabh Pant, there’s a method to his manner but when it fails, purists always find a way to point fingers at him.

And like Pant, Jaiswal is a supremely confident batter and that immense self-belief was witnessed in the 118 off 164 balls he smashed to lay a strong foundation for India. It also revealed another facet of his game - the willingness to grind it out when the tide isn’t going his way. On 51 off 49 balls when he started the third day, he dropped defence for the first part of his stay, happy to let nightwatchman Akash Deep do all the heavy hitting. He then upped the tempo later but, unlike his flashy usual style, much of the shots were behind square. He swallowed his ego, cut the flair, rode on discipline and determination to post his sixth Test century and fourth versus England. He led a charmed life too, dropped three times, but he ensured he made a fortune out of it.

What augurs well for Jaiswal and India as they go through a transition is the batsman’s consistent success. Barring the series in South Africa in 2023-24 where a majority of the Indian batsmen struggled, Jaiswal has scored a century in the West Indies, Australia as well as two now in England. He averages 50.20, which most openers would happily accept after 46 innings. 

Speaking to the media after aggregating 411 runs in the series, Jaiswal said the goal was to score more, and he’s a little unsatisfied. “I think cricket is the game of consistency. I think I wanted to do more. I wanted to make my innings bigger so I could have achieved more. I was trying very hard for that, and I was enjoying it. Whenever I go out there, I think of batting as long as I can.”

Jaiswal said the key to success is enjoying the game, and that’s what he’s doing. “Always the mentality is to go out there and fight it out and enjoy. Because in the end, I tell myself that it's just a game and we need to enjoy it. That’s very important. I'm proud of myself.”

Jaiswal indeed can at having had another impactful series.