Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fighting knock anchored India’s fight back on the second day of the fourth Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Jaiswal’s well-paced 82 off 118 balls, laced with 11 fours and a maximum, helped India reach 164/5 by stumps after Australia posted an imposing 474 in their first innings.
Welcome to the 'G, Yashasvi Jaiswal 🤝 pic.twitter.com/m3ZanYexGy
— Melbourne Cricket Ground (@MCG) December 27, 2024
The 22-year-old southpaw has been in sensational form this year, amassing 1,394 Test runs from 15 matches - the fifth-most by an Indian in a calendar year.
Only Sachin Tendulkar (1,562 in 2010), Virender Sehwag (1,462 in 2008 and 1,422 in 2010) and Sunil Gavaskar (1,407 in 1979) have scored more. Yashasvi Jaiswal is also the second-highest Test run-scorer this year, trailing only England’s Joe Root, who has 1,556 runs from 17 matches.
Jaiswal, who was retained by the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2025 season, lost his opening partner Rohit Sharma early in the innings. However, Jaiswal counter-attacked with authority, dominating the square and front of the wicket.
The youngster lost another partner in KL Rahul after a brief partnership. Undeterred, Jaiswal brought up a well-crafted fifty off 81 balls and looked poised for another big century, similar to his 161 at Perth in the series opener.
However, a mix-up with Virat Kohli cost Jaiswal his wicket just after the pair had stitched a vital 100-run stand. India’s troubles deepened as Virat Kohli nicked behind soon after and Akash Deep, promoted as a nightwatchman, failed to hold fort.
Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja weathered the remaining overs to avoid further damage, setting up a crucial Day 3 for India.
With the series level at 1-1, the results of the fourth and fifth Tests will determine if India can secure a spot in the World Test Championship 2023-25 final.
