Former England captain Alastair Cook praised young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for his match-winning innings in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia in Perth. After getting out for zero (duck) in his first-ever batting chance in Australia during the first innings, the 22-year-old made a stunning comeback with a brilliant knock of 161 runs off 297 balls in India’s second innings.
This was Jaiswal’s fourth Test century in just 15 matches and his second century in overseas conditions, with his first coming during his debut in the West Indies last year. During his amazing performance, Jaiswal even sledged Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, calling him ‘slow,’ showing his confidence.
Talking to TNT Sports, Alastair Cook appreciated Jaiswal’s confidence and maturity at such a young age. Earlier this year, Jaiswal became the second-fastest Indian batter to score 1,000 Test runs, achieving the milestone in just 16 innings. So far, he has an incredible record in Test cricket, scoring 1,568 runs at an average of 58.07 in 28 innings.
“Surprised that India have gone there and hammered Australia” – Alastair Cook
Cook expressed his surprise over India’s dominant victory against Australia in the first Test at Perth Stadium. Australia had an unbeaten Test record at the venue, winning their previous four matches there. However, they faced a strong Indian side and lost by a massive margin of 295 runs.
India scored only 150 runs in their first innings but bowled out Australia for 104. In the second innings, Jaiswal shone with support from KL Rahul (77) and Virat Kohli (100*), helping India set a huge target of 534 for Australia. Jasprit Bumrah and the other bowlers dismissed Australia for just 238 runs in their second innings, sealing the win for India.
The second Test match will be played in Adelaide from December 6 after a short break.
