“Brilliant batting in alien conditions” - Irfan Pathan hails Yashasvi Jaiswal for his heroics in Leeds Test

Former India all-rounder and commentator Irfan Pathan has hailed the Indian opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal for his century knock against England on Day 1 of the Leeds Test in the new World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle.

Jaiswal went on to smack 101 runs in 159 balls with 16 fours and a six before getting bowled by the England skipper Ben Stokes. Irfan asserted that Jaiswal planned to play outside off-stump and on the stumps with great control.

"Outstanding batting. He made a statement on the first ball by defending. It was the first ball of the series from Chris Woakes, and he took his foot forward and defended. His game plan was to play balls outside the off stump and on the stumps with great control," he said on Sony Sports.

Interestingly, Jaiswal scored the majority of his runs off-field and hardly scored runs on the leg-side. After scoring centuries in the West Indies and Australia, Jaiswal continued his good momentum, scoring a century in England in his first-ever innings.

"Whether the ball was full or he had to play on the up, the aggressive approach we saw against bad balls from this young Yashasvi Jaiswal's bat was praiseworthy. The celebration shows how significant it was for him to score a century on the England tour as a youngster," he added.

"He is 23 years old, and he has scored a hundred on his Test debut, and hundreds in his first match in Australia and England. He scored nearly 72% runs square on the off side. He scored hardly any runs on the leg side. The wagon wheel clearly shows what his plan was. Absolutely brilliant batting by an Indian batter in these alien conditions," he concluded.

At stumps on Day 1, India posted 359/3 in 85 overs. Captain Shubman Gill, who batted at No. 4, scored 127* runs in 175 balls with 16 fours and a six. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant smacked 65* runs in 102 balls with six fours and two sixes.

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