CHENNAI: Yashasvi Jaiswal has inked a few dates to remind himself of his nascent cricketing journey. 16-10-2019 finds a mention, the day when he became the youngest batter to hit a List-A double 100. 7-5-2022 is also prominent; on Saturday, he helped Rajasthan Royals to a crucial win in an IPL game.
Chances are once the current season is over, 27-4-2023 may find a home on one of his forearms or the torso. In front of the yellow Wall — the Sawai Mansingh Stadium looked more like Borussia Dortmund’s home venue rather than Royals’ on Thursday night — the southpaw played what’s fast becoming his trademark; explosive innings centred on taking down any bowling type in the first six overs.
Jaiswal, even in his breakout first year at the franchise in 2021, had shown a penchant for using the powerplay as a canvas to paint very attractive but small cameos. Chennai Super Kings, who were on the receiving end of the assault on Thursday, had intimate knowledge of that. At the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2021, Jaiswal’s powerplay hedonism spoke volumes about his potential. He was dismissed just after the first six overs but he had satisfied the role given to him, a 21-ball 50 saw the then-teen take down Josh Hazlewood with the field up. 38 runs came off just 12 balls.
He wasn’t as severe on any particular bowler on Thursday but it spoke about his importance to the franchise’s scheme of things. Considering Jos Buttler is now looking to stay on for longer as a result of which he has cut out risks in the powerplay, Jaiswal’s role is all the more important. Of the 304 runs Jaiswal has compiled in 2023, 186 have come inside the powerplay, just 15 behind Faf du Plessis’ 201. The uncapped Indian batter — he will surely be capped at some stage this year if they have designs on taking him for next year’s T20 World Cup — also gets a huge percentage of runs in boundaries. Out of that 186, 158 (32x4, 5x6) have come in fours or sixes.
His range was on show against Akash Singh who conceded three boundaries in the very first over. Jaiswal, blessed with timing, also loves to take the aerial route and he used both sides of the strip as he reduced Buttler to a passenger at the other end. It’s not a surprise to see Jaiswal using the first over to set the tempo. Of the 851 runs he has made in his IPL career, 139 have come in the first over. While other batters use it to suss the surface, he is a batter who craves instant gratification. If the first over was the entree, the third was the dessert as he took 18 off another Akash over, one maximum over long on the pick of a very attractive bunch.
If there’s one criticism, it’s what he does after the powerplay. Considering he isn’t a six-hitter as yet (he hits one every 19 deliveries or so), he does have the tendency to slow down as the fours dry up post the first six overs. In 2023, he strikes at 163 in the powerplay but that drops 128 post-it. In this phase, the boundaries hit per balls faced ratio also drops alarmingly to over seven balls. If he can address that facet of his game going forward, he can live up to his name (successful).
