Alastair Cook in awe of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s innings that 'hid India’s fragile batting order'

Former England skipper Alastair Cook was in awe of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s magnificent ton in the ongoing second Test between India and England. He said that the young batter batted outstandingly well and hid the hosts’ fragile batting order.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has been the lone warrior for India in the ongoing second Test against England in Visakhapatnam. India, batting first after winning the toss, kept losing wickets at the regular intervals at one end but the young batter held the fort and stood tall.

Yashasvi Jaiswal batted maturely and brought a sense of calm to the team. No other batter could get going as they gifted away their wickets after a solid start. Had the young opener not been there, it’s safe to India would’ve crumbled under 200 runs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his solid form and brought up his second century. However, he realized the need to bat long and made sure that he didn’t give his wicket away. The batter carried his bat throughout the day and made sure India ended the day on high.

Yashasvi Jaiswal remained unbeaten at the stumps on Day 2. The batter slammed 179 runs off 257 balls with 17 fours and five sixes to his name. His valiant effort powered the team to a total of 336/6 runs on the board.

Alastair Cook was in awe of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s innings and said that he delivered when his team needed him the most. He added that he batted with the maturity and skill of more than a 22-year-old. Speaking to TNT Sports, he explained:

“He has been absolutely outstanding. 170-odd not out, the rest of the Indian team were 158-6 on a pretty good day If you take him out of it, not that you should or you could take him out of the side, actually the Indian fragile batting line-up is still there.

“It’s just been hidden by a quite superb innings. When his side really needed it, he has delivered an innings of a guy that looks young, but bats with a maturity and skill of more than a 22-year-old.”

Yashasvi Jaiswal will be getting 250 tomorrow which is a threat for England – Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook further talked about the game’s position and said that India were ahead in the game but losing wickets at the end put them on the back foot.

The former England captain, however, is aware that if Yashasvi Jaiswal gets a big score tomorrow and India end up with 500 runs, it might be a threat for the visitors. He elaborated:

“At this stage [during the afternoon session] India was in a really strong position. 170-2 and the danger of a massive score on a flat wicket was looming for England. India batted with great control today and at 225-3 were ahead of the game. I think India will be disappointed that they’ve missed an opportunity.

They still might get 500, Ravi Shastri said this was a 500 wicket in the first innings to set the game up. If they do, Jaiswal will be getting 250 tomorrow which is the threat for England. It’s lots of starts and not enough quality in the execution of shots which caused their downfall.”

At Stumps on Day 1, India was 336/6 with Yashasvi Jaiswal batting at 179* along with Ravichandran Ashwin on 5*.