Jaiswal’s century puts India in command

Yashasvi Jaiswal struck a sublime sixth Test century on Saturday, guiding India to a dominant position against England on Day 3 of the fifth Test at the Oval.

His 125-ball ton, laced with 11 fours and two sixes, marked his second century of the series, bookending it after his century in the series opener.  Jaiswal was unbeaten on 115 alongside Ravindra Jadeja (8), with India leading by 231 runs at 254-5.

Jaiswal's innings was not without fortune—he was dropped twice on Day 2, first by Harry Brook at slip on 20 and then by Liam Dawson at 40. Capitalizing on these reprieves, he took the attack to England late on Day 2 before adopting a more watchful approach in the morning session, allowing nightwatchman Deep to flourish.

Deep's counterattacking 66 off 94 balls frustrated England, as he and Jaiswal shared a vital 107-run stand. England's woes deepened when Zak Crawley dropped Deep in the slips—England's fourth missed chance of the innings—under floodlights in overcast conditions. Gus Atkinson eventually removed Deep, but Jaiswal held firm even as captain Shubman Gill perished early in the third session for 11, narrowly missing Sunil Gavaskar's record for most runs by an Indian in a Test series, finishing with 754 runs in 10 innings.

England's depleted attack, missing Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes, struggled to extract swing despite favorable conditions. Their butter-fingered fielding only compounded the misery for stand-in skipper Olly Pope.

Jaiswal, who narrowly missed out on a century at Edgbaston earlier in the series, has been India's backbone alongside Gill. With a commanding lead and Jaiswal in full flow, India are well poised to push for victory and square the series 2-2.