Yashasvi Jaiswal's feisty bat-swing faces the test of English conditions

England offers polished wooden boards to get your name etched on, and the Barmy Army's silly serenades to silence. But overcast conditions and whimsical swing of English bowlers can test the Indian batting phalanx. The Indian Express looks at what challenges await three frontline Indian batsmen
During the WTC final, broadcasters showed a picture of Yashasvi Jaiswal on the screen. On air, then, was the popular commentator Ian Smith who raved, 'What a brash young talent.' Perfectly chosen words from the grizzled veteran for Jaiswal's brashness would be tested in the five Test series in England.
He had started well with a match-winning hundred at the Perth Test in Australia late last year, but had slowly petered out by the time that series ended. England offers him another opportunity to make the cricketing world look at him with respect – and widen the adjective list beyond talent.
It's what made him whimper out in Australia after the bright start that needs attention, as it's going to determine his success in England. He seems to be the type who gets easily carried away in the heat of the moment – by well-timed words from opposition or by his urge to dominate a potentially 'big' occasion.
There were a couple of moments, rather phases, from that Australian Test series that are worth cuing up. The first came in the second innings of the first Test at Perth. It was a very nervous start from Jaiswal, who it seemed almost couldn't prevent himself from playing a rash shot every now and then. It was the calming presence of KL Rahul that saved the day there.
Nearly every time Jaiswal flirted with danger – a flashy drive, an ambitious cut, or a predetermined sashay down the track, Rahul would walk across to him for a chat. Often, Jaiswal would walk to meet him mid-pitch, nod his head, and retreat to cut out any unnecessary frills from his game for the next phase. Small little things, but Tests are often lost, if not won, due to those lapses. Later, Jaiswal spoke about how Rahul kept telling him to breathe and calm down.
'You're bowling too slow!' 🐌
Mitch Starc says he didn't hear Yashasvi Jaiswal's speed sledge in Perth #UnplayablePodcast | @Qantas | #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/wtarbWxKak
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 4, 2024
Resultantly, Jaiswal made his slowest Test fifty (off 123 balls) of his career. Near the end of the day, when Jaiswal ensured the tiring Aussies were put to the sword, Rahul didn't intervene. It was the first 150+ opening stand by a visiting team in Australia since 2010 – and it helped India win the game on the back of Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance.
The next moment came at a vital stage in the series when India lost their grip on the BGT trophy — in the last session on the final day of the fourth Test at Melbourne, when a draw was well within their grasp. By then, Australia had realised that Jaiswal can be pushed and triggered into something rash.
At one stage, after tea, Pat Cummins placed at silly point Sam Konstas who chirped away at Jaiswal. The young Indian was somewhat disturbed by it as he would pull away from the strike at the last instant at least once, and point at the teenager. Rishabh Pant would rush from the non-striker's end to calm him down, a scene that kept occurring often in that crucial phase. Pant would gesture at Jaiswal to take deep breaths and calm down, and nod encouragingly when Jaiswal settled down again with punchy drives off Nathan Lyon and Travis Head. But when Pant himself combusted, Jaiswal was left with no senior to mentor him.
Konstas had the reputation in domestic cricket as the lippy kid, who loves to annoy batsmen with constant chatter. And he not only kept at Jaiswal, but also gestured the Australian fans to get into the act, whipping up their emotions. The Bay 13, the famously barracking Australian crowd of lore, had seemingly spread all around the park. Thunderous hollering ensued. And it wasn't a surprise, when Jaiswal went rather hard at a pull to a short ball down leg side from Cummins, only to edge it behind. Game over.
Even if they didn't follow that India-Australia series closely, England would know from their own experience. In a series in India last year, James Anderson had gone at Jaiswal at a vital juncture on the third day of the Test at Rajkot. Anderson moved in to pack a ring of men close and in Jaiswal's eyeline. An arc of fielders from short cover to short midwicket. 'C'mon show me what you got!' seemed to be the bait. It was also perhaps to make Jaiswal try to go wider of this ring, which would have meant he would have had to play across the line to a reversing ball. And Jaiswal exploded, crashing Anderson all around the park. So that seems to be his method of response when put under pressure, especially with a few verbals.
𝙃𝙖𝙩-𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙄𝙓𝙀𝙎! 🔥 🔥
Yashasvi Jaiswal is smacking 'em all around the park! 💥💥💥
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/FM0hVG5pje#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @ybj_19 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/OjJjt8bOsx
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 18, 2024
Even the way he bats is quite telling: at times it feels it's all or nothing. Of all the top-order batsmen, not many, if any, go as hard as him into a shot. It's just not his hands that swing feistily, but it feels as if his entire being is launched into a drive; such is the ferocious intent. He doesn't hold back a bit, when he drives, cuts or pulls. It's his strength, and the occasional weakness, and one that would be tested in England if and when the conditions turn overcast and the ball does a bit.
As he found out when a ball from Chris Woakes bent in towards his pad to trap him lbw in the tour game. That frenetic bat swing can be tested in such scenarios. Even in the tour game the other day, he kept trying to belt the ball rather hard, and eventually sliced one to waiting English palms. His previous experience in England had come during an India U-19 tour where he played seven white-ball games. He had tallied 294 runs with a highest of 78, but that was under obviously different conditions.
The WTC final has reaffirmed one facet: the challenges when its overcast are enormous, and vastly different from when the sun is out. One also has to see what will be the sort of pitches India gets. The WTC final at Lord's was a rather slow track, perhaps because it was prepared during a dry harsh spell of weather. Now, it has changed as it has been raining a lot more in the last couple of weeks across the country. How it affects the pitches, and what England curators come up with remains to be seen.
But in case there is swing on offer, Jaiswal's methods will be interesting to watch. Will he try to play himself in as he did under the careful mentoring of Rahul in that Perth Test or will he try imposing himself early in the piece itself. Luckily, he has been in the country for a while now, post IPL, and would have crafted a game plan to give himself the best chance to succeed. There has not been much doubt about the way he plays in India or when there has been pace on the track without much seam movement. He played two Tests in seaming conditions in South Africa in the 2023-24 tour, and did struggle, with his highest score being 28. But those were pretty spicy tracks. Now the test in England could be of swing if the conditions turn overcast.
It's not clear yet whether England would dare to produce seaming grassy pitches considering their Bazball style of play and the presence of Jasprit Bumrah. But there would still be phases of play where Jaiswal's game would be severely tested. And apart from his batting, his temperament could well determine his success. Will Ian Smith be singing his raves or sighing dirge by the end of the series?

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