"He understood that England were not trying to get him out" - Parthiv Patel lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal's century in 3rd IND vs ENG Test
Parthiv Patel has lauded Yashasvi Jaiswal for pacing his innings perfectly and scoring a century in India's second innings of the third Test against England in Rajkot on Saturday.
Jaiswal smashed a 133-ball 104 before retiring hurt due to back issues as India posted 196/2 at stumps on Day 3. The hosts bowled England out for 319 earlier in the day and have a lead of 322 runs heading into the fourth day.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Parthiv was asked about Jaiswal starting slowly before suddenly changing gears. He responded:
"Everything changed after that one over from (James) Anderson. You saw a six with a hook shot in that over and then a few big shots. He understood that England were not trying to get him out."
The former India wicketkeeper-batter observed that the youngster made the most of England's defensive approach.
"You change gears immediately when you realize that the bowlers are not trying to get you out and Yashasvi Jaiswal did that. Changing gears is extremely necessary and that's why we repeatedly say that this player is special. He takes full advantage whenever it seems like the bowlers are under pressure," Parthiv stated.
Yashasvi Jaiswal scored only 35 runs off the first 73 deliveries he faced. He then smoked James Anderson for a six and two fours off consecutive deliveries to press the accelerator and eventually reached his century off just 122 balls.
"The most important thing is to understand the direction in which the match is going" - Parthiv Patel praises Yashasvi Jaiswal's game awareness
![Yashasvi Jaiswal struck nine fours and five sixes during his innings. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/02/f07ab-17081778992729-1920.jpg?w=500)
Parthiv Patel noted that Yashasvi Jaiswal adopted different approaches in each of his three substantial knocks in the ongoing series. He elaborated:
"You need to understand your game and along with that, the most important thing is to understand the direction in which the match is going. You saw that in Jaiswal's hundred today. The way he scored the double hundred and the 80 runs in the first Test, you got to see different approaches in all of them."
The cricketer-turned-commentator further credited the Mumbai opener's first-class experience for his match awareness.
"The one common thing in all of them was match awareness, that when he can score runs and when he needs to respect the bowlers who are bowling well. Match awareness is a huge sign of a mature player and you only get that when you have scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket," Parthiv added.
Jaiswal, with 435 runs at an average of 87.00, is the highest run-getter in the series so far. He has scored two centuries, including a 209-run knock in India's first innings of the second Test, and a half-century in six innings.