India’s dynamic opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, opened up about his exchange with Australia’s Mitchell Starc on Day 2 of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. On Day 2, a rollicking battle with the bat and ball between Jaiswal and Starc was a sight to behold, with spectators turning up in numbers to witness the young star taking on an established left-armer. Things started to spice up when Jaiswal whipped a straight ball from Starc high over mid-wicket to find the boundary rope. Starc, with determination in his eyes, beat Jaiswal’s bat, causing him to shake his head with a chuckle. Jaiswal didn’t back down and shook his head in return, indicating his readiness to take on the challenge.
On the next delivery, Jaiswal executed a textbook backfoot defensive shot, which drew a chirp from Starc. The young opener hit back verbally, stating, “It’s coming too slow.”
Jaiswal went on to hammer 161 on Day 3 before holing out to Steven Smith off Mitchell Marsh. During the post-day press conference on Sunday, he was asked about the exchange and had a simple reply to it, “I felt it at that moment.”
The ongoing BGT series is Jaiswal’s maiden tour of Australia. After a disappointing start in the first innings, where he registered an eight-ball duck, Jaiswal held his composure and bounced back with a near-flawed performance.
The 22-year-old became the third Indian cricketer to slam a century on his maiden tour to Australia. He also overtook India legend Vijay Hazare’s (1,420 runs) tally and brought up the most runs by an Indian after his first 15 Tests.
With four centuries already to his name, Jaiswal was asked to pick his favourite. He gave a heartwarming reply and gave equal importance to all of them. However, he admitted that the one in Perth would be special for him.
“I think for me, all the centuries are amazing. But this will be special because I really wanted to do it. I worked hard in the practice session. I wanted to score runs in Australia,” he added.
In 15 Tests, Jaiswal has scored 1,568 runs at an average of 58.07, with four centuries and eight fifties. His best score is 214*.