Yashasvi Jaiswal arrived in Delhi carrying a quiet itch from the previous Test in Ahmedabad. Surrounded by teammates who piled on runs, he had looked fluent without converting. This time, there was no hesitation and no haste—only a composed, clinically paced hundred that reset the day, the scoreboard, and the tone of the series. It was the kind of innings that doesn’t shout; it accumulates, over by over, until you look up and realize the field has been bent to the batter’s will.
From the outset, Jaiswal read conditions with clarity. The surface offered just enough carry for the new ball to be respected, but it also rewarded straight bat faces and late hands. He began with percentage strokes—punches on the up through cover, tucks behind square, and those quiet drop-and-run singles that keep bowlers from building dots. When length erred, he let the bat swing in a controlled arc; when line was immaculate, he defended as if rehearsing a drill. The sparkle came not from risk, but from repeatability.
A big reason the innings worked was his sequencing. Early on, Jaiswal played close to the body, head still and eyes level. As the ball softened, he widened the scoring map, picking gaps on both sides of the wicket. You could see the gears change without theatrics: the drive through mid-off when mid-on drifted wider; the open-faced guide past gully after the cordon thinned; the nudge into the leg-side pockets to transfer strike at the start of overs. It felt like an algorithm—observe the field, predict the response, take the option with the highest percentage.
The partnerships around him mattered, too. His top-order ally absorbed the new-ball spice, which allowed Jaiswal to remain methodical. Together they blunted the initial burst, turned the strike with discipline, and forced the bowlers into that uncomfortable space where they must choose between staying patient or searching for magic. The moment the search began—just a touch fuller, a touch straighter—Jaiswal cashed in with controlled boundaries that pushed the run rate without inviting danger.
Technically, two details stood out. First, his alignment against balls angling into middle-and-off: the front shoulder stayed closed, the head didn’t fall across, and the bat came down straight, which neutralized lbw and bowled threats. Second, his tempo against the older ball: rather than premeditating sweeps or charging seamers, he trusted tempo and placement, letting poor balls be punished and good balls be survived. That patience is what separates a pretty fifty from a statement hundred.
The innings also spoke to temperament. Opening in Tests is an exam of decision-making as much as technique. After Ahmedabad, the easier path would have been to force a statement early. Instead, Jaiswal chose to let the game come to him—accepting lean patches, building back through singles, and resisting the siren call of a rushed milestone. By the time three figures arrived, it felt inevitable rather than dramatic, a reward for an approach that made bowlers earn every dot.
For the opposition, the questions multiplied with each session. Do you keep a ring field to choke singles and risk the straight boundary? Do you push men back and concede a drip-feed of ones and twos that keeps the scoreboard purring? Jaiswal exploited whichever choice appeared. When mid-off went deeper, the check-drive reappeared. When the square boundary was protected, he leaned on the drop-and-run. That elasticity is what turns a good start into a platform and a platform into control.
Strategically, the hundred did more than swell a personal tally. It allowed India to bat to a plan—long enough to let the pitch slow, deep enough to place scoreboard pressure squarely on the visitors. With wickets in hand and time on their side, the hosts could dictate pace: extend the first innings, tire out the attack, and set up favorable bowling conditions for the next day.
In the bigger picture, this is the kind of knock teams pin to the dressing-room wall as a template. Technique steady, ego parked, options varied, risk managed—Jaiswal showed how to build a home-Test hundred that is both attractive and ruthless. If Ahmedabad was a reminder that even in strong totals an opener can be left hungry, Delhi was the answer: composure, control, and complete authorship of the day.
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