Who was the last Indian batter to score a Test 200 before Yashasvi Jaiswal?
Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his maiden Test double hundred against England in the ongoing Test in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. It was Jaiswal's sensational knock of 209 off 270 deliveries that ensured that the hosts got 396 on the board in their first innings.
It was quite a frustrating first innings for India as most of their batters failed to convert their starts into a big score. However, Jaiswal showed great composure and mixed it up nicely with his shot-making ability to pile misery over the opposition.
Jaiswal also became the third-youngest batter in Indian men's cricket to score a double hundred, behind Vinod Kambli and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. It was after more than four years that an Indian cricketer scored a double hundred in the longest format.
Who was the last player to score a double hundred for India in Tests before Yashasvi Jaiswal? None other than his opening partner and current Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma scored India's previous Test double hundred back in 2019
During the 2019-20 home season, Rohit Sharma asserted his dominance as a Test opener for India and just hasn't looked back ever since in the longest format. He was backed by the management led by head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli and the opener finally showed consistency in the longest format that many believed he could achieve.
It was the third Test against South Africa in Ranchi where Rohit smashed a sensational double hundred to set up another big score in India's first innings. He scored 212 off just 255 deliveries, helping the hosts post a mammoth 497/9. Ajinkya Rahane also had a hundred to his name, scoring a well-made 115.
Umesh Yadav lit up the stage with his entertaining cameo of 31 off just 10 balls, including as many as five sixes. The Proteas in reply were just blown away as Umesh seemed to carry the confidence from his batting, picking up three wickets. South Africa were bundled out for 162 and were asked to follow on.
While Umesh was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings, it was Mohammed Shami in the second essay with three wickets as the visitors just couldn't handle the quality Indian bowling. Their second innings saw them muster just 133 as India won by a resounding margin of an innings and 202 runs.
That helped the hosts whitewash the Proteas 3-0 and Rohit ended up being the recipient of the Player of the Series award with a staggering 529 runs overall.