Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Credit: X/@BCCI
Perth: Technology in sport, as in life, is a bliss. It's not perfect but it certainly helps in arriving at more correct decisions and minimising complaints. The downside of this, though, is that it robs the players and the spectators of spontaneous joy.
Yashasvi Jaiswal moved from 96 to 100 in only his second Test innings in Australia with a ramped six off Josh Hazlewood but had to wait for the replays to confirm the maximum.
As the replays showed the ball landing full on the boundary marker, the 22-year-old removed his helmet, raised his hands with clenched fists and vigorously motioned towards the dressing room to mark the special occasion.
It was an unusual shot to bring up an extraordinary century. While the left-hander intended the ball to fly towards third man, it instead flew over the fine-leg fence. India weren't complaining, their fans couldn't care less and Jaiswal couldn't be happier. En route to his fourth career ton, the Mumbai batter became only the third Indian to score a century in his first Test Down Under after ML Jaisimha (1968) and Sunil Gavaskar (1977). Incidentally, all three hundreds have come in the second innings.
He also became the first Indian opener to score a ton in Australia after KL Rahul in the 2014-15 series in Sydney.
"I always wanted to come to Australia and do well and play here. It was very important for me that I score well and do my best here," Jaiswal said. "Of course, it's always amazing to play such great bowlers and playing against them in their country. So, it's always special to score a 100 against one of the best (sides) in the world."
While his opening partner Rahul (77, 176b, 5x4) deserved to get a three-figure score, Jaiswal (161, 297b, 15x4, 3x6) continued his fetish for daddy hundreds, bringing up his fourth 150-plus score. His previous three centuries are 171 (vs West Indies), 209 and 214 n.o. (both vs England).
It wasn't quite the ice and fire combo, but even as Rahul remained resolute, Jaiswal was willing to take risks every now and then. He took a special liking to Mitchell Starc, scoring 51 runs from the 69 balls he faced off the senior pacer. He also got into gamesmanship with the Starc, suggesting he had become too slow.
"I just felt like saying it," he said matter of factly replying to a pointed question, looking as confident and comfortable behind the mic as he had been during his 432-minute stay in front of the wickets.
While he was largely on the money with his game-plan, there were moments when he attempted a slash and missed, pulled but edged and dangerously shimmied. Rahul, whoever, was quick to caution him against needless aggression through his innings. Having got a chance to come back into the game from a precarious position, the senior pro knew they couldn't afford to throw away the advantage.
Rahul, himself was living on borrowed time, could have been left out for the next Test had he not come up with a significant knock in the second innings after being given out controversially in the first hit when he looked the most assured of top-order Indian batters. The Karnataka batter not only accomplished that task, but also guided his younger opening colleague through his vulnerable phase.
"The way he was guiding me and the way he was communicating with me was very good for me. I had great fun batting with him," Jaiswal would say later. "He was giving me short but really amazing messages. 'Just make yourself calm and try to breathe and just relax and watch the ball in play.' So, I was trying that and I was really enjoying it because in these kinds of wickets, you're always going to get good balls."