India in Australia: “The most unusual way to get 100 points!”

“His capacity for hard work, tireless work ethic and focus coupled with the gifts God gave him have made him a champion that every Indian can be proud of.”

IMAGE: Yashasvi Jaiswal drives the ball to fine leg for a six to raise the tone. Photo: Courtesy of ICC/X.

A month and four days before his 23rd birthday, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his first Test century for Australia on the third day of the first Test in Perth on Sunday, November 24, 2024.

The aggressive opener gained momentum from a six – he took a ramp shot off a Josh Hazlewood bouncer and the ball sailed towards penalty leg and into the ad pad.

The entire Indian team in the pavilion and Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary room were seen giving Jaiswal a standing ovation after achieving the milestone.

“This boy is special, he really is special. Looking at where he comes from, the way he hits the ball, how he deals with fame, sometimes it’s not easy to deal with fame. Against England, he scored over 700 runs in five Test matches, two double hundreds earlier in the year,” Gavaskar said during comments on Saturday.

“And he looks so hungry for runs, which is what you need as a hitter.” Many of us were told: get a hundred. I think he’s saying, “I want to score 150 or 200 points. He is hungry for runs and that is exactly what Indian cricket needs,” Gavaskar added.

IMAGE: Jaiswal celebrates his century on the third day of the first Test against Australia in Perth on November 24, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of ICC/X.

“What a special moment to watch Yashasvi Jaiswal reach his hundred!” exclaimed Shashi Tharoor, a cricket enthusiast and Member of Parliament.

“This is not just a story of extraordinary talent. At its core, it is a story about how overcoming extreme adversity and poverty builds character and gives some people a strong determination to succeed. His capacity for hard work, tireless hard work and focus coupled with the gifts God gave him has made him a champion that every Indian can be proud of,” Tharoor wrote, tagging Jaiswal in his post.

“This is the most unusual way to get a hundred I’ve ever seen,” former Australian captain Mark Taylor commented.

“He looks every inch chosen!” Commentator Gerard Whately said on Sen Cricket.

Facing Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood and Nathan Lyon, Jaiswal redeemed himself after the first duck of the innings.

By scoring his fourth Test century, Jaiswal joined Gavaskar (1977), Sachin Tendulkar (1992) and Virat Kohli (2018) to become only the fourth Indian cricketer to score a Test century in Perth.

He also became only the third Indian to score a century in his first Test in Australia after M.L. Jaisimha accomplished the feat during the second innings of the Brisbane Test in January 1968. Coming in at number six, Jaisimha scored 101 runs.

Gavaskar also scored a century (113) in his first Test Down Under in the second innings of the Brisbane Test in December 1977.

IMAGE: Jaiswal batted brilliantly to fend off the Australian attack. Photo: Courtesy of BCCI/X.

Jaswal also became the first Indian opener since K.L. Rahul, who scored a century in the Australia Test. Rahul scored 110 in the Sydney Test in January 2015.

At 22, Jaiswal joined Tendulkar, Rishabh Pant, Rahul and Kohli to become one of the youngest Indians to score a Test century in Australia.

Sachin Tendulkar in Sydney: 18 years, 253 days

Sachin Tendulkar in Perth: 18 years, 283 days

Rishabh Pant in Sydney: 21 years, 91 days

Dattu Padkar in Adelaide: 22 years, 42 days

K.L. Rahul in Sydney: 22 years, 263 days

Yashasvi Jaiswal in Perth: 22 years, 330 days

Virat Kohli at Adelaide: 23 years and 80 days.