Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy | Jaiswal's ton lights up the day

Leeds: The current stars of Indian cricket gave an exemplary demonstration of their ability to carry the team in transition forward as the visitors made a rousing start to the gruelling five-match Test series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England here on Friday.

The dashing Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had stacked up 712 runs in the five-match home series against England last year, continued his love affair with the Three Lions with a blazing 100 not out while skipper Shubman Gill matched him shot for shot with an equally gorgeous unbeaten 58 with the duo powering India to 215/2 at tea on the opening day of the first Test at Headingley.

This series is considered to be the ultimate test of character for this young Indian side missing two of their batting stalwarts — Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. And they were thrown into the deep end after England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and had no hesitation in asking India to bat first despite conditions not being brutal and home pace attack lacking experience. Yet, India were in for a challenge.

Can the flashy Jaiswal adapt his game to the swing and seam of England? Can the immensely gifted Gill, whose technique has been found wanting outside the subcontinent especially with the balls that come in, show he has learnt from his mistakes and vindicate BCCI decision’s to hand him the captaincy? Can the seasoned Rahul finally take his game to the next level? Well, two of those questions were answered emphatically.

The 23-year-old Jaiswal, who made an impression even in Australia with a brilliant century in Perth followed by two 80s in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, was his typical self in a free-flowing knock. An opener who likes to be busy all the time by taking his chances, the southpaw hardly allowed the inexperienced England bowling attack to settle into any sort of rhythm.

Against the pacers, he batted a yard outside the crease to negate the swing and went for his shots every time the ball was pitched up, not worrying about the repercussions. It was chancy at the start, but to his credit, he looked in control of what he was trying to do. With England’s pacers barely showing any discipline, he grew in confidence as the innings wore on and started dealing with only boundaries after a point in time. Drives down the ground and cuts on the front and back foot, Jaiswal simply meant business from the word go in notching up his fifth Test century.

The only time he looked uncomfortable was with the incoming delivery where, because of his natural tendency to play on the off-side, his bat came a tad late. But he managed to counter it in his own way, fighting it out like a typical Mumbaikar.

Gill at the other end was class personified. Arriving at the crease following the quick dismissals of KL Rahul (42) and debutant Sai Sudharsan (0) on the stroke of lunch, Gill had his task cut out. England, having done their homework about him, initially tested his weakness with a lot of incoming deliveries. They hoped to sneak one in the gap between bat and pad.

However, just like how Jaiswal showed his preparation for England by batting outside the crease, Gill unleashed his improved defence. There were barely any gaps between his bat and pads and he read the lines beautifully. But at the same time, he never backed away from playing his shots as runs came at almost four an over during his association with Jaiswal. He too will be hoping to get a century like Jaiswal and kick off his captaincy reign on a glorious note.

SCOREBOARD INDIA (I Innings): Jaiswal (batting) 100 (154b 16x4 1x6) Rahul c Root b Carse 42 (78b 8x4) Sudharsan c Smith b Stokes 0 (4b) Gill (batting) 58 (74b 8x4) Extras (LB-6 NB-4 Pen-5) 15 TOTAL (for 2 wkts 51 overs) 215 Fall of wickets: 1-91 (Rahul) 2-92 (Sudharsan). Bowling: Woakes 13-2-60-0 Carse 14-4-58-1 (nb-2) Tongue 11-0-45-0 (nb-1) Stokes 7-1-22-1 (nb-1) Bashir 6-2-19-0.