Yashasvi Jaiswal had come into this Test with a century in the series opener in Leeds and four dropped catches in the slip cordon. The lapses were squarely blamed for India’s loss and led to his ouster from the close-in catching position for this match.
At least, the fielding practice sessions in the lead-up to Edgbaston have indicated
as much.
Such lack of confidence in his abilities from the team management could have been enough to ruin Jaiswal’s self-belief. There were, however, no signs of his batting being affected. His solid innings of 87 at the top of the order on Wednesday allowed the other batters to handle the conditions with ease on the opening day in Birmingham.
Jaiswal’s innings, under clear skies and bright sunshine, was split between patience and aggression in the first session. The lefthanded opener was cautious when the odd ball was wobbling around.
He looked in the perfect mood to replicate his Headingley feat until a sudden lapse in concentration brought about his dismissal off Ben Stokes.
Jaiswal accelerated once Josh Tongue was introduced into the attack. The pressure created by the opening bowlers, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse, suddenly seemed to have vanished.
He had been driving smoothly and Tongue’s waywardness allowed him to break free. Three boundaries from the pacer’s third over were followed by three-in-a-row from what turned out to be Tongue’s sixth and final one of his spell before lunch. The England captain then ordered his quicks to instigate their usual short-ball ploy.
Stokes even tried out the mind games ploy as Jaiswal got engaged in a war of words. The verbal duel prompted a pointed response from Jaiswal, “you don’t want to hear from me, come on”.
Just when he seemed set for another hundred, Jaiswal hung out at a wide delivery from Stokes to nick behind. The opener hung his head in despair but he had laid the foundation for the innings.