Prolific opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his maiden Test double hundred in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, becoming the third youngest Indian to achieve the feat in his nascent yet remarkable career. Playing only his sixth Test, the 22-year-old's sensational knock of 209 off 290 balls single-handedly took India to 396 all out in 112 overs on the second day of the match.
He hit 19 fours and seven sixes en route to the double century, which was the only bright spot in an under-par batting effort from the home side.
His stunning knock earned the respect of the opposition and England players walked up to Jaiswal to congratulate him after his epic effort finally came to an end in the 107th over of the innings.
Vinod Kambli has the distinction of being the youngest Indian to score a double century, that too against England, at the age of 21 years and 335 days in 1993.
The record for the second-youngest Indian double centurion in Tests is also held by Kambli, who broke it at the age of 21 and 355 against Zimbabwe.
Before Kambli, the record was held by Sunil Gavaskar, who scored his first double in the West Indies in 1971.
He is the first Indian southpaw since Gautam Gambhir to raise a double ton in the traditional format. Gambhir's knock came back in 2008 against Australia.
Jaiswal had scored 171 on his Test debut against West Indies last year. He scored an innings of 80 runs in the series opener against England in Hyderabad where India lost by 28 runs.
Before Jaiswal, only Sachin Tendulkar and Kambli had multiple scores above 150 in Tests before turning 23.
In the ongoing match, Jaiswal added another 28 runs with fellow overnight batsman Ravichandran Ashwin (20), who was dismissed by James Anderson.
Jaiswal finally reached the milestone with a six and a four off debutant spinner Shoaib Bashir in the 102nd over.
“Jaiswal – one of the biggest stories in world sport!”, former England skipper Kevin Pietersen wrote on his social media account, perhaps referring to the rising star's humble beginnings.
Jaiswal was eventually dismissed when he went for a big shot and was caught by Jonny Bairstow at extra cover off Anderson's bowling.
Hailing from the Bhadohi of Uttar Pradesh, Jaiswal's life was not a bed of roses for the boy from a lower-middle-class family.
The fourth of six children in his home, Jaiswal moved to Mumbai from Bhadohi at the age of 11 to train at the iconic Azad Maidan.
He kept himself busy with odd jobs, including roadside selling of paani puri, and lived in tents with Azad Maidan gardeners during his formative years.
Jaiswal selling pani puri is a well-documented and oft-repeated anecdote from his life, but his formative coach Jwala Singh has insisted in multiple interviews with PTI that it is a bit exaggerated.
Singh has maintained that Jaiswal lived at his home for most of his years of struggle.
“I really don't like the story (selling panipuri). He plays cricket because of his hard work,” Jwala told PTI during an interaction.
In fact, he clarified the urban myth that is only gaining traction by the day. “Many vendors set up their stalls near the Azad Maidan. Sometimes, when he got free in the evening, he would help them a little. He did not set up a stall himself. It is not like he sold panipuris and then went to play for India,” Jwala was ruthless in dismissing the whole 'sob story'.
The youngster came to prominence at the 2020 Under-19 World Cup where he was the leading run-getter.
He was picked up by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL auction the same year and has scored 1172 runs in 37 IPL matches so far.
Jaiswal also scored 502 runs, including a hundred and four fifties, in 17 T20Is for India.
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