Batting Style, Debut Century And..: Yashasvi Jaiswal Carries Forward Sehwag's Legacy

Yashavsi Jaiswal and Virender Sehwag [Source: AP Photos | @Bhamu_007/x.com]

From the very beginning of their cricketing history, India has been heralded for their batting prowess. The nation has gifted some of the best batters of the game over the years.

The best batters for India have not only been confined to a particular place in the batting order. From openers to finishers to stabilisers, the country has given outstanding exponents in all the departments of the game. 

The Legacy Of Indian Batters

From Sunil Gavaskar to Virender Sehwag, India has seen some of the best openers of Test cricket. As it seems from the batting approach of the newest addition to the list, Yashasvi Jaiswal appears to be carrying that legacy forward.

While Sunil Gavaskar belonged to the class of traditional openers, Virender Sehwag revolutionalised Test opening with his aggressive batting and intent to take down the bowlers. Since the retirement of the right-handed opening batter, India has been searching for someone who could take up his place and leave the same impact. 

Players like Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have taken up the role for the team. However, the early signs from Yashasvi Jaiswal surely show that the young batter could be the one who carries the legacy of Sehwag ahead.

Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Virender Sehwag: Test Career

Strike Rate In Test Cricket

So far, we have seen that Yashasvi Jaiswal has carried his T20 hitting into the longest format of the game. He has maintained his aggressive attitude forward and has scored at a brisk rate, even in the longest format of the game.

This is quite similar to Virender Sehwag, who batted with an aggressive attitude at the top of the order in Test cricket. As a matter of fact, in his career of 104 Test matches, he batted with a strike rate of 82.23. Although Jaiswal is not as close to him when it comes to strike rate and has numbers of 65.55, he seems to be the man who can continue with a similar positive intent.

Debut Century

Interestingly, both batters scored a century in their debut Test match, and that too away from home. Yashasvi Jaiswal's debut Test came against the West Indies in West Indies. He smashed 171 runs in the game at Windsor Park and announced his arrival at the highest level of the game. 

Virender Sehwag played his first Test in South Africa at Mangaung Oval. In the match, Sehwag came into bat at number six and scored 105 runs off 173 balls.

Although both batters had a century in their debut innings, there were a few differences. While Jaiswal played as an opener in his debut innings, Sehwag came into bat in the middle order. Another big difference is that while India won Jaiswal's debut Test, they lost the match in the case of Sehwag's debut. 

Conclusion

Virender Sehwag is a legendary name in Indian cricket. The right-handed batter redefined Test batting in his own ways and was a true match-winner in the true sense of the term. Yashasvi Jaiswal has a long way to go before he can reach the same standards as Sehwag. 

However, the young batter has made a promising start to his career and looks impactful at the top of the order. If he keeps working on his game and consistently delivers match-defining knocks at the top, there is no doubt that the legacy of Jaiswal will be similar to Virender Sehwag, if not bigger.

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