Jaiswal shakes off the lows to make an impact for Rajasthan
MUMBAI: Yashasvi Jaiswal knows how demanding the Indian Premier League is for young batters trying to find their feet in the tournament. He lost his place in the Rajasthan Royals side after the first three games this season. Since the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 5, he had been on the bench until Saturday’s game against Punjab Kings.
The 20-year-old opener grabbed the chance with a 41-ball 68 at the Wankhede Stadium, his home ground, to set up a sixwicket win and lift the 2008 champions towards a spot in the playoffs. A lot was expected from Jaiswal after his promising 2021 IPL season when he showed he can adapt to the demanding T20 format. There was a 21-ball 50 against eventual champions Chennai Super Kings, 20-ball 32 against Mumbai Indians and a 36-ball 49 versus Punjab Kings. It convinced the franchise to retain him.
He, however, began this season with 20, 1 and 4. Luckily for him, RR notched a series of wins to be in the top three in the league table. The others retained by Royals are Jos Buttler and skipper Sanju Samson. To drop Jaiswal then was a big decision given how much RR had invested in him.
It was only after the back-toback defeats in their last two games that the team management brought back Jaiswal for Saturday’s crucial game. The Mayank Agarwal-led PBKS are as good as any team in IPL, and the pressure was on with only four games left to seal playoff spots. It was emotional for the left-handed batter as he went up to collect the Player-of-theMatch award, having endured a tough season overall.
He had warmed the bench in Mumbai’s three Ranji Trophy league games, a consequence of below- par showings in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy and T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournaments.
In the Hazare Trophy in December, Jaiswal scored only 128 runs at an average of 32 in five matches in Mumbai’s forgettable run. They failed to chase 157 versus Puducherry, bowled out for 139 to lose by 18 runs. The opener made two.
In the Mushtaq Ali T20 in November, at Guwahati Mumbai were eliminated in the league stage, and didn’t qualify for the quarter-final. In five matches (4 innings) Jaiswal aggregated 37 with a top score of 19.
Going into the PBKS game, Royals needed the other batters to step up and ease the heavy reliance on Jos Buttler. The opener’s form tapering off in the previous three games after some brilliant knocks showed in the results. In the first seven matches Buttler contributed 491 runs. In the three games before PBKS, he aggregated 97. Jaiswal’s knock thus couldn’t have been timed better. After a 46-run partnership in four overs with the England star, Jaiswal took it upon himself to control the chase. On his home ground, it was an innings to vindicate the Royals’ faith in him. He subdued the opposition with silken strokes than power-hitting with nine fours and two sixes. The win halted Royals’ slide and helped consolidate their third position in the points table.
Jaiswal picked his six off Rahul Chahar in the eighth over as his favourite shot. The legspinner pitched outside legstump and Jaiswal played insideout, over covers.
“He spent quality time training and lots of hours in the nets, so we all knew he was due to score, so very happy for him,” Samson said. Jaiswal said at the presentation ceremony: “It’s an amazing feeling whenever I go and bat; with all my pride I go. I just try to make it simple and play good cricketing shots.”
He dedicated the knock to RR’s Director Performance Zubin Bharucha. “He has been pushing me always. He has helped me, motivated me a lot, and pushed me every day.”
The former opener oversees training at RR’s facility in Talegaon village, two hours’ drive from Nagpur. The work Jaiswal has put in shows in his improvement from his first IPL season in 2020 where he looked out of depth. In 2021, he contributed runs without dominating. Having earmarked him as one of the core players they want to build the team around, the Royals coaching team had been preparing Jaiswal with an elaborate plan. Saturday’s innings was the first time he has carried his team through.