Published on 12:00 AM, February 03, 2024

Defiant Jaiswal steals the show

India's Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates after reaching his century. Photo: Reuters

The opening day of the second Test between India and England belonged to the defiant Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit his first Test ton at home and second overall to keep the hosts afloat in a day that would've otherwise belonged to the visiting bowlers.

Jaiswal made 179 out of the 336 runs India made at the Vizag Stadium yesterday and was easily the stand out batter on display with Shubman Gill being the second highest scorer with 34.

The English bowlers kept India on a reasonably tight leash for most of the day and had six scalps to show for their efforts with leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed and debutant left-arm spinner Shoaib Bashir taking a couple of wickets each.

But England failed to break the resolve of Jaiswal, who showed controlled aggression throughout the day, hitting 17 fours and five sixes of the 257 balls he faced.

Jaiswal's defiance was on full display in the 49th over of the innings, when he smashed left-arm spinner Tom Hartley for a six over long-on to reach the three-figure mark.

Despite Jaiswal's brilliant knock, India are a fair bit away from the average first innings score in Tests at the venue, which is 479.

India need Jaiswal to continue his defiance, complete his maiden double ton in Tests and help India score as many runs as possible on the second day.

"I would love to double this up, and play till the end for the team. I want to recover well for tomorrow [today] now," Jaiswal said after the day's play.