The summer of Yashasvi Jaiswal in England is getting colder with every outing. After an erratic 24 and an encouraging 64 in Canterbury, he was sputtery in both outings in Northampton. A nip-backer from Chris Woakes consumed him in the first hit; the away-swinger from the lively George Hill ended his pursuit of adapting to English conditions, which were classically overcast and blustery, on Sunday.
Stress-free half-centuries by KL Rahul (51) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (80) salvaged India A, who ended the day on 163/4 after bowling out England Lions for 327, but Jaiswal’s meagre returns would haunt India.
The 12-ball stay was torturous, as Hill and Woakes repeatedly tested both his edges. Hill’s straightener had almost nailed him in front, but for the umpire’s reservation about the ball’s height. Woakes had him stabbing at full-length away-nibblers, even though he had emphatically guided one through third man. But the disciplined lines the new-ball pair plugged, allied with delectable movement, were so probing that Jaiswal could not resist a hesitant poke at a ball that shaped away, not by a mind-boggling proportion, but suitably enough to kiss the edge.
The left-hander, though, could be content that he was not as jumpy as he had been on the opening day of the game, when he couldn’t gauge the paths of the ball at all. A couple of leaves on Sunday were precise, a defensive block was particularly solid, wherein he met the ball more side-on, rather than chest on, as he is sometimes prone to.
The movement of the feet were more definite, expansive drives and on-side swipes were binned. He looked a much more resolute batsman than he was in Canterbury. In the first innings there, he perished swiping across. Such rough edges were trimmed, and he has woven more restraint and discretion into his game. But he has not yet emitted signs that he would be India’s batting mainstay on the tour. For that, one needs the metrics that matter the most. Runs. Big runs.
Cause of concern
For Jaiswal, the highest run-getter of his country in the last World Test Championship cycle and the leading light in Australia, his lack of runs in the two practice games would not be worrisome enough to cost him a spot in the team. But it adds to the brittleness of an already wobbly batting firm, what with veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli recently retired, Shubman Gill enduring a torrid tour to Australia, Rishabh Pant not yet at his destructive peak, and Karun Nair returning to the Test fold after eight years in the wilderness. An out-of-tune Jaiswal would be a body blow for India’ ambitions to win a first series in England since 2007.
Soothing, but, was the touch of Abhimanyu Easwaran. The Bengal opener timed the ball beatifically in his innings of 80, underlining his readiness to wear the elusive Test cap. His 88-run stand with Rahul, who composed a fine 51 after his hundred in the first innings, was bereft of any strain.
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However, the brightest spot of the day was left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed, whose four-wicket burst in the morning precipitated a spectacular collapse, the Lions slipping from 219 for three to 229 for seven.
Khaleel’s first wicket of the morning was a measured-to-perfection projectile. The ball bent inwardly a fraction in the air, aided by the overnight moisture, before it broke away from Jordan Cox from a short-of a good length. Misjudging the ball to snake back into his pads, thew batsman had committed his movements to block the in-swinger. The ball rerouted too late for Cox to prevent his bat’s edgy intervention.
Khaleel, harnessing the assistance in the air and coaxing seam movement from the surface with the old ball, drew numerous streaky strokes and hideous gropes outside the off-stump. He ended James Rew’s resistance with a hard-length ball that reared up, a devilish yorker detonated the off-stump off Hill, and a full away-swinger foxed Woakes into outside-edging to the wicketkeeper.
Brief scores: India A 348 & 163/4 (Easwaran 80, Rahul 51; Woakes 2/31) lead England Lions 327 (Gay 71; Khaleel 4/70) by 184 runs
