Overall, the 22-year-old opener has scored 1,007 runs in 10 Test matches in 2024 at a whopping average of 59.23 and striking aggressively at 75.88
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Bengaluru
India’s young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal on Friday became just the fifth batter to score 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year before turning 23. During India’s second Test against New Zealand in Pune, Jaiswal, 22, kept composure and slammed 30(60) before losing his wicket on Day 2. His short-lived 30-run knock on Day 2 was enough to take his overall tally past the 1,000 Test-run mark in 2024.
After crossing the landmark feat, Jaiswal entered an exclusive club that features four cricketing icons apart from him. The southpaw became just the fifth batter to score 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year before turning 23.
The exclusive club features batting legends, including Garfield Sobers (1,193 Test runs in 1958), Graeme Smith (1,198 Test runs in 2003), AB de Villiers (1,008 Test runs in 2005) and Alastair Cook (1,013 Test runs in 2006).
He also joined England’s charismatic Joe Root and became just the second batter to notch up 1,000 Test runs in 2024.
Jaiswal’s promising knock was brought to an end by New Zealand’s part-time spinner Glenn Phillips. In his very first over, Jaiswal bent forward to defend the ball but failed to cover the turn on the front foot. The ball turned enough to force out an edge and travel Mitchell at the slip.
Overall, the 22-year-old opener has scored 1,007 runs in 10 Test matches in 2024 at a whopping average of 59.23 and striking aggressively at 75.88.
Meanwhile, former New Zealand cricketer and broadcaster Simon Doull lambasted Indian batters for their poor batting performance against spinners Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips during the second Test against New Zealand at Pune, saying that it is a misconception that modern Indian players are good against tweakers, rather they are as vulnerable as overseas batters on good turning tracks.
A shambolic batting performance during the first inning of the Pune Test might have just put the hosts India at a rare risk of a series loss home and has put their 12-year, 18 series-long unbeaten record at in jeopardy.
Speaking after India’s innings on air, Doull said that the it is not true that Indian players currently are as good as against spin as their older counterparts in Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid etc. He said even during the Indian Premier League (IPL), whenever pitches turn, players complain about it.
“I think it is a misconception around the world now that these modern Indian players are better playing spin than anyone else. They are not. They are the same as everyone else around the world. Gone are the days of Ganguly, Gambhir, Laxman and Dravid. Sachin was so, so good against spin, and the era before them. I think good quality spinners are just as good as getting India out on turning tracks as Indian spinners against good quality opposition batters. And the moment they see a turning track in IPL, they complain,” he said.
Manjrekar slams Kohli for his poor selection of shot
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed disappointment with star batter Virat Kohli’s dismissal during the second Test against New Zealand at Pune, expressing that he played the “worst shot of his career” to get out.
During the first innings of the Pune Test, Virat was dismissed for a poor nine-ball one-run knock. He missed a low full toss delivered by spinner Mitchell Santner and played the wrong line as the ball sneaked under his bat and crashed into his stumps.
Taking to X, Manjrekar wrote, “Oh dear! Virat will know himself that he has just played the worst shot of his career to get out. Got to feel for him…coz as always he came out with solid & honest intent.”
This poor dismissal continues Virat’s inconsistent run in Tests this year, having made 228 runs in five Tests and nine innings at an average of 28.50, with just one fifty and best score of 70.
In the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 though, Virat has been rather solid. He has scored 539 runs in eight Tests at an average of 44.91, with a century and three fifties in 13 innings, with best score of 121.
The decade of 2020s has not been kind to Virat the Test batter, with him having made 1,816 runs in 33 Tests at an average of 33.01, with just two centuries and nine fifties in 57 innings and the best score of 186.
