Even though the Indian batting has largely struggled in the ongoing IND vs NZ Test series, there have been sparks of brilliance from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. In the last match in Pune, he returned with scores of 30 and 77, and had scored 13 and 35 in the first match at Bengaluru.
All Eyes on Yashasvi Jaiswal
Now, with the Kiwis nine down with a lead of 143, India has a golden chance of winning the match, and “save their face”, in what could have been an embarrassing whitewash at home. But for that, the first step would be top remove the last Kiwi batter. The second will be, Yashasvi Jaiswal will have to be there till the end, to ensure a smooth chase. Or so feels, former India skipper Anil Kumble.
Speaking on Jio Cinema, Kumble suggested that Yashasvi might be able to tackle Ajaz Patel well, who bagged a fifer in the first innings. “Yashasvi Jaiswal is going to be key for India. As a left-hander, his main job will be to negate Ajaz Patel. He should not just get a start and throw it away like in the first innings.
Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma’s Failures
“You want him to get going because it is not going to be easy once the ball gets older and things start happening on the surface. If Jaiswal gets a good start, things will be easier for India,” Anil Kumble said. With some turn on offer already, and a bounce that the batsmen cannot trust, it will be imperative for the batter to stick around, when the ball gets old, and when spinners are operating from both the ends.
Another reason for that is, Indian batsmen including skipper Rohit Shamra, and Virat Kohli have looked way out of touch. They are dismissed without much trouble to the opposition, that puts the Indian team in a soup.