BGT: Jaiswal’s ton puts team in driver’s seat, India extend lead to 321 runs

At the break, India reached 275 for 1 in their second innings despite losing KL Rahul's (77) wicket

Perth: Young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal proved his mettle once again and established his status as the next big batting superstar with a superb hundred on his maiden appearance on Australian soil as India extended their overall lead to 321 at lunch on the third day of the opening Test here on Sunday. At the break, India reached 275 for 1 in their second innings despite losing KL Rahul‘s (77) wicket.

Exactly 32 years ago, 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar became a global phenomenon with a hundred for the ages at the old WACA ground on a track that had those snake-like cracks and in the last two days, Jaiswal (141 batting, 264 balls) has shown the entire world that he is here to be the torch-bearer of Indian batting for the next decade and a half.

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The 22-year-old has hit 12 fours and three sixes and currently has Devdutt Padikkal (25 not out) for company. And just like Sunil Gavaskar and Tendulkar, the latest batting sensation from ‘Mumbai School of Batsmanship’ is showing his voracious appetite for runs, slowly striding towards another ‘Daddy Hundreds’.

Jaiswal completed his fourth Test hundred and first in a SENA country with a beautifully executed ramp shot off a bouncer bowled by Josh Hazlewood (0/23 in 16 overs). The celebration was one for the keeps with hands in the air and gratitude for the almighty before showing his lean but muscular biceps.

The six also ensured that Jaiswal and KL Rahul’s opening pair surpassed the previous record stand of 191 set by Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth way back in Sydney in 1986. Rahul, who played one of his most compact defensive innings on the second day, was more intent on scoring some quick runs with the Kookaburra ball being 60 plus overs old and hardly doing anything off the pitch which had flattened considerably.

A few overpitched deliveries from Mitchell Starc did fetch him some runs but a hundred that was there for the taking didn’t come though. Once they became the first opening pair to add 200 runs, Rahul got one from Starc angled in and the nick was taken low by Alex Carey.

Devdutt Padikkal knew that best chance to get some confidence was score a few runs before the second new ball was taken. He had an extremely confident Jaiswal at the other end, who smashed Nathan Lyon’s delivery pitched on the rough through the off-side. Jaiswal hit a gorgeous off-drive off Starc once the second new ball was taken.

Jaiswal-Padikkal duo added 74 runs for the second wicket in decent time.