Yashasvi Jaiswal's Resilience Shines in Perth

Yashasvi Jaiswal's journey to becoming a top-notch cricketer has been marked by rapid growth and evolution. The 22-year-old's baptism by fire in Test cricket in Australia was a testament to his ability to adapt and thrive in challenging conditions.

On Saturday, November 23, Jaiswal showed that he was meant to play Test cricket in Australia, effortlessly tackling one of the greatest bowling attacks in history on their home turf. Despite failing to score in his maiden outing the previous day, Jaiswal started his second innings like the first had never happened, showcasing his technique, discipline, and will-power.

Jaiswal's ability to pick length and leave deliveries with conviction and precision was reminiscent of Murali Vijay at his peak. He stretched his front-foot forward and defended deliveries right under his nose, making contact right under his eyes and leaving the ball to drop dead by his feet or roll a few feet in front of him.

The young left-hander's judgement of bounce was also impressive, as he rarely reacted early to short balls and instead swayed out of the way without fuss. He even picked one off for runs, like the perioscopeish ramp off Pat Cummins.

Jaiswal's records had said that he was susceptible against the short ball in South African conditions, but that was 12 months ago. He proved against the hostile Australian attack that he had moved on and grown out of his apparent issues against the bouncer.

As he began unleashing his array of audacious strokes, Jaiswal looked better and better. He swiped against the line-off Mitchell Starc for four, a shot he'd execute in even more damaging fashion later, clipping a slightly full delivery on his pads over deep backward square-leg for six.

In all, Jaiswal faced 193 balls to finish unbeaten on 90, a study in concentration and determination to put his team's interests ahead of his own instincts. A great sign of maturity and growth.

Jaiswal has developed a reputation of being a swashbuckler who plays a lot of shots irreverently, but at the same time, he's also played a number of innings that have been indicative of the different layers to his game. His innings in Perth was a testament to his ability to adapt and thrive in challenging conditions.

The only period of his innings when he looked a tad edgy was just before he got back to his half-century, when Nathan Lyon created a bit of pressure on Jaiswal, disallowing him from breaking free. However, Jaiswal's absorption of information and course correction was quick and immediate, just like every other aspect of his batting on what was a sensational day for Indian cricket in Australia.

Jaiswal took his first bow in Australia only as recently as Friday morning, but by Saturday evening, he was taking a bow for having enthralled and entertained the 32,000 plus crowd at the Perth Stadium and his own dressing-room.