At the close of play on Day One, Yashasvi Jaiswal walked off the field with a score of 179*. In an innings where no other Indian player crossed 35, the left-hander was a cut above.
Just over a week into this series, we already have two centurions. Ollie Pope’s 196 in the third innings propelled England to victory and was widely praised due to the strength of the Indian bowling attack and the positive manner that he went about it.
Two matches, two centuries, and two distinct approaches.
On a basic level, Pope and Jaiswal set out to do the same thing. Both centuries are defined by their focus on taking the attack to the opposition. Neither of these knocks could be described as attritional, there was no real digging in and waiting.
Instead, the focus was on playing shots to score. Where we see a striking difference, is the way that each player went about it.
Today, Jaiswal did his talking with his feet. Alternating between skipping down the ground and leaning onto his back foot, Jaiswal danced his way to 179*. A trademark shot that Jaiswal plays against the spinner is the six down the ground after charging down the track.
Last week, Ollie Pope put more faith in his wrists than his feet. Over and over again he pulled out the reverse sweep, constantly looking to keep the score ticking over.
As knocks go, both do a good job at representing their team’s greater approach to playing spin. In England, the sweep is supreme. You do your best to take the direction and magnitude of spin out of the equation, and you meet the ball with a horizontal bat face.
The sweep has not been as warmly welcomed in Indian coaching. The Indian approach, a more traditional one, is that the best way to play spin is to use your feet. If the ball is floated up, you step out to the ball and play it off the bounce. If the ball is shorter, you hang back to cut, pull, or punch.
From these differences in approach, you do get two innings constructed in different ways. In Pope’s 196, he hit 21 boundaries, and so far Jaiswal has hit 22. For Pope, none of these were sixes, but Jaiswal has hit five so far. The reverse sweep is fantastic for picking a gap, but as a grounded shot is limited to hitting fours.
In contrast, Jaiswal’s method opens up the opportunity for some very big hits. Off the front foot he can come down the track and hit aerially down the ground. Off the back foot, he can punish a drag down with a big pull over midwicket.
You might be forgiven for thinking this makes Jaiswal’s approach sound a bit more risky, but that is yet to be the case. Towards the end of play, it came up on screen that Jaiswal was in control for 92% of shots, and middled 86%. In essence, this is a big score and a big score without being particularly troubled.
In contrast, there was a bit of fuss last week when it was revealed that Pope had a false shot percentage of 27% in his century. Getting to 196 was a fantastic achievement, but it had a healthy amount of luck.
Looking at the different ways of playing spin, it does follow that a sweep heavy approach might create a greater amount of risk. As happened with Joe Root in the first innings, you might get caught by a ball that’s shorter than expected, or you might find the pitch has a nasty surprise for you.
A more forward and back-centred approach gives you more options in terms of playing line and length, as you can decide which way to push depending on where the bowler pitches the ball.
Where Jaiswal deserves the most credit is the exceptional judgement he has displayed. It sounds easy when you put it into writing, but a score of 179* requires you to consistently read the bowler and read the pitch. For many players, it is difficult to confidently make your decision when it comes to footwork. Across this series you will see countless dismissals where batters get stuck somewhere in the middle.
Similarly, Pope deserves plenty of praise for the fact he did his work a few days into the match. It is hard to directly compare an innings at two different grounds in different phases of the game, but it is highly useful when it comes to identifying two distinct methods against spin.
Jaiswal is still going, and England have a new day to find an answer. We have been treated to two phenomenal performances, and that alone is exciting enough for this series. Will we see India tempted by the reverse sweep and England some fancy footwork? Or will both teams stick to their guns?
