Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar lauded young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maturity in facing James Anderson during his knock of 179* on Day 1 of the second Test against England. While the youngster scored at a strike rate of 70, he played Anderson’s spell with patience. He hit only eight runs off 47 balls and it was Jaiswal’s second Test century in only his sixth matches as well.

Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo at Stumps on Day 1, Manjrekar said, “It wasn’t like Jimmy Anderson didn’t bowl much, he bowled a lot. I don’t think a single boundary was hit by Jaiswal against him. That is maturity. He realized this is a bowler who’s not going to give him hittable balls,” said Manjrekar.

Manjrekar further added: “He is an attacking player, very much a modern-day product and an IPL star as well. But a lot of the shots today were not him trying to unsettle the bowler or trying to play Bazball. It was him punishing the loose balls and that was the most impressive thing about Jaiswal. This was not so much counter-attacking but more Jaiswal batting normally and then progressively starting to dominate. And that was an excellent sign.”

However, Jaiswal’s 179* off 257 deliveries helped India finish Day 1 at 336/6 in 93 overs. He scored 171 against the West Indies on his Test debut in July last year but missed out on three figures in his next eight innings as well.

“So Yashasvi has got a 100 for himself and the next one (200) if he gets there, whatever he gets after that is more for the team. A knock that Rahul Dravid and the team management will be very happy with and obliged to Jaiswal. What he did was make up for those who got in and got out. A lot of the batters got 30s on a much more manageable pitch but couldn’t go on to get a 100,” concluded Sanjay Manjrekar.