Former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara praised Yashasvi Jaiswal after India registered a comprehensive nine-wicket win against Afghanistan in the third ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Saturday.
Jaiswal, who was dismissed cheaply after scoring four runs in the second game, scored a stunning knock of 110 runs off 86 balls. The left-hander smashed 14 fours and three sixes in his blistering knock as he batted at the top of his game.
The southpaw got off to a brisk start and went on to complete his second ODI century. He added 170 runs off 137 balls with veteran batter Rohit Sharma for the opening alliance.
“There was an expectation from him to score runs because the team management backed him by keeping him a part of the playing XI in this match. He proved why the team management showed confidence in him. He brought improvement in the shot he got out to in the previous match. His style looks different once he gets set,” Pujara said on JioStar.
Pujara believes Jaiswal is creating slight pressure on Rohit Sharma.
“There is no comparison between Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi because Rohit also scored runs today (Saturday). However, any senior player feels the pressure, and he is creating slight pressure on Rohit Sharma. It’s healthy competition for the Indian team. Rohit and Virat (Kohli) are great players, and they aren’t compared with any young player, but this team is preparing replacements for the future,” he added.
On the other hand, Piyush Chawla praised Jaiswal for making technical adjustments in his game while playing the cut shot.
“He needed to play such a knock because Shubman Gill himself went to No. 3 to give Yashasvi Jaiswal a chance to open. He got out while trying to cut in the previous match. Whenever he played the cut today, he rolled his wrists and kept the ball down. It shows his mentality that he had to score big runs,” he said.
“We have seen it many times earlier as well that once he gets set, only big runs come from his bat, and he gave an example of that once again. He knows the template to score a hundred. He placed a price tag on his wicket. He knew how important this knock was,” Chawla observed.
Jaiswal has not been picked for England ODIs.
