Yashasvi Jaiswal began India’s England tour with fireworks, but poor returns turned opinion against him after his first-innings failure at The Oval. Critics questioned whether English conditions had exposed his technical flaws, as he had been dismissed six times off the moving ball and was averaging just 32.56 in this series prior to the second innings knock.

But Jaiswal chose the perfect stage for his response, delivering a commanding century in India’s second innings of the decisive fifth Test. At The Oval on Day 3, he punished England’s short and losing lines, taking aggression but with control to take India into a commanding position. He clubbed a fantastic ton at the Kennington Oval.

Jaiswal turns game on its head

India resumed with a slender 52-run lead, and soon Jaiswal formed an unlikely yet match-defining stand with nightwatchman Akash Deep, who scored a gutsy 66, putting on 107 runs together. The duo turned the tide as India reached 205/3 by lunch, extending the advantage to 166 runs, leaving England swimming upstream. It was unthinkable for England, especially on a difficult track like Oval.

Dropped twice early in his innings, Jaiswal responded beautifully. He smashed his fifty with a towering six and moved into nine fifty-plus scores against England, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar at just 23 years old. The southpaw cut everything that was outside the off stump and England repented. While this was his sixth Test century, England have now been at the receiving end four times. In 10 Tests versus England, he owns 1,100-plus runs at 63-plus average.

Yashasvi Jaiswal at Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy

• Match 1: 101 and 4 (Headingley)
• Match 2: 87 and 28 (Edgbaston)
• Match 3: 13 and 0 (Lord’s)
• Match 4: 58 and 0 (Old Trafford)
• Match 5: 2 and 100* (The Oval)