NICK HOWSON: The 22-year-old roared to a second Test double-century with a devastating innings against England in Rajkot, entering a select group of players in the process
Yashasvi Jaiswal delivered another reminder of his burgeoning talent with a sparkling double hundred as India crushed England's spirit in the third Test in Rajkot.
Jaiswal had retired on day three on 104 with back spasms but returned the following morning after the dismissal of Shubman Gill.
The Suriyawan native picked up from where he left off, converting his hundred into an unbeaten 214 as he smeared another 210 runs in 103 balls to pile pain on the tourists.
The left-hander is now the third-youngest batter to record two double centuries in Test cricket.
No England bowler was safe as Yaiswal went on the charge (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Only Vinod Kambli (21 years and 55 days) and Don Bradman (21 years and 323 days) were younger on the days they registered the achievement in 1993 and 1931, respectively.
Jaiswal, who reached the landmark aged 22 years and 54 days, went past former South Africa captain Graeme Smith (22 years, 173 days) who accumulated three before the age of 23.
Bradman holds the record for the most double tons in a single Test series (his 974 runs against England in 1930 is the most made by anyone) with three and Yaiswal has two Tests to match that watermark in Ranchi and Dharamsala over the coming weeks.
Jaiswal has just hit a HAT-TRICK of sixes against Jimmy Anderson 🤯#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/jcmEfcgztF
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) February 18, 2024
His innings at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium was punctuated by a dozen sixes; four off Joe Root, four off James Anderson (including three in a row in the 85th over), and two from Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley.
The haul sees Jaiswal draw level with Wasim Akram, whose 12 maximums for Pakistan against Zimbabwe had stood as the standalone record since 1996.
That onslaught has already helped India hit the most sixes in a single Test series, reaching 48 with two matches still to play. They surpassed their own record of 47 set against South Africa in 2019/20, not to mention the 43 England reeled off during last summer's Ashes series.
Jaiswal is now among elite company in Test cricket (PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images)
Amid that series against The Proteas, India struck 27 sixes in the 203-run victory at Visakhapatnam - a feat which has also been passed by Rohit Sharma's side in this Test.
Jaiswal has now cleared the rope 25 times in his seven Tests, as many as Graham Gooch (118 Tests) and Usman Khawaja (71) and above Tillakaratne Dilshan, Desmond Haynes, Smith, Kane Williamson (all 24) and Babar Azam (23). Furthermore, his 22 in these three Tests is already the most by any individual in a series.Â
He burst onto the scene last July with 171 in his maiden Test innings against the West Indies in Roseau, with two fifties and these double hundreds having followed. It leaves Jaiswal with an average of 71.25 - only Bradman's 99.94 is better for players having played at least seven Tests.
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