Yashasvi Jaiswal (left) celebrates alongside Rishabh Pant after the dismissal of Zakir Hasan, a closeup shot of Jaiswal taking the catch. (PTI/Screengrab on JioCinema)
The batter was same. As was the fielder who nabbed him. As it was in the final innings of the Chennai Test, Zakir Hasan’s innings came to an end courtesy of a Yashasvi Jaiswal catch. And as it was in Chennai, the Indian opener produced a stunning effort at gully to remove his Bangladesh counterpart.
There were minor differences between both takes, that highlighted his all-rounded ability of fielding in the cordon. At Chepauk last week, Jaiswal had leaped to his left to complete a one-handed off an outside edge induced by a Jasprit Bumrah away-swinger from over the wicket. A perfect delivery to lure the batter into a drive followed by a perfect grab to finish the job.
In Kanpur, it was Akash Deep who trapped the southpaw. A delivery that came into the left-hander from an angle round the wicket before straightening as it pitched from a good length and caught an outside edge.
Jaiswal pounces like a panther to take the catch! 👌#INDvBAN #JioCinemaSports #IDFCFirstBankTestSeries pic.twitter.com/cfg394XfMm
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For Jaiswal, standing stretched at gully, the ball came to his right in a low trajectory, and the southpaw was quick to react to it – using the orthodox cup catching technique.
It was referred to the third umpire from the on-field officials and the former came to the conclusion, “I have no angle that says the ball touches the ground and I am ready to make my decision.”
It’s no surprise that India’s player of the match in Chennai, Ravichandran Ashwin was all praise for Jaiswal’s presence in the team from a fielding perspective.
“The close-in catching, in places like short-leg, is a very difficult thing. You don’t get good fielders like this. Jaiswal himself volunteers and stands up,” Ashwin had said in a video on his YouTube channel.
India’s fielding coach T Dilip was also all-praise for Jaiswal in his assessment of the latter’s catch in Chennai, “It was one of the best you could have seen. Towards his non-dominant side a really low, ball dipping in and he is running forward and the ball dipping fast. He took it with one hand, it was an absolute blinder of a catch, especially for a gully fielder.”
In Kanpur, Jaiswal’s catch gave India their opening breakthrough on a rain-curtailed Day 1 that closed with the visitors three wickets down at 107.
