India’s cricketing icon, Anil Kumble, has expressed immense admiration for young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal following his commanding unbeaten knock of 173 runs. This stellar performance illuminated the opening day of the second Test match between India and West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
Kumble, a former India captain and one of the country’s most respected cricketing minds, went a step further, suggesting that Jaiswal has a genuine chance to transform his marathon innings into a historic triple century on Saturday.
“Jaiswal is consistently improving day by day,” Kumble remarked during an appearance on JioHotstar’s ‘Amul Cricket Live’. “We’ve often talked about his intense hunger and his dedicated approach to building substantial innings, not just for his personal milestones, but for the team’s benefit. In the previous game, he started well but got out prematurely, so he has certainly compensated for that here with this exceptional performance.”
The 23-year-old left-handed batsman, who boasts an impressive record of nearly 2500 runs in just 26 Tests, including seven centuries and 12 fifties, batted confidently throughout the entire first day. His 173 runs came off 253 deliveries, embellished with 22 elegant fours, and played a pivotal role in positioning India strongly at 318/2 by stumps.
Kumble, who has closely observed numerous modern cricketing greats, particularly applauded Jaiswal’s composure and his proven capability to convert promising starts into monumental scores. “Throughout his relatively short career, he has consistently demonstrated that he does not squander these significant opportunities. Once he settles in, he ensures his innings truly counts – and that is truly a wonderful sight to behold,” Kumble added.
The veteran cricketer also highlighted Jaiswal’s extraordinary consistency in scoring big hundreds; an impressive five out of his seven centuries have surpassed the 150-run mark. Such a remarkable feat before turning 24 places him in an exclusive league, with only cricketing legends like Graeme Smith and Don Bradman having achieved comparable statistics.
With the pitch appearing to flatten out and the West Indies bowlers visibly tiring, Kumble encouraged the prodigious youngster to set his sights even higher. “He is still at the crease, and he has the potential to score even more runs tomorrow. Jaiswal now has a fantastic opportunity, not merely for a double hundred, but perhaps even to reach a historic triple hundred,” Kumble elaborated.
Should Jaiswal successfully convert his unbeaten 173 into a triple century, he would etch his name in history as only the third Indian batsman to achieve this rare milestone, joining the illustrious company of Virender Sehwag and Karun Nair.