Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Kohli and Jaiswal, the king and a heir apparent

A king and one of his heirs apparent held sway on third day at Perth on Sunday. It turned out to be Virat Kohli’s seventh century in a country where he has been held in awe, but could well be one of his most satisfying ones for all the flak he had to cop in recent times – while Yashasvi Jaiswal reiterated that the future of Indian batting is in good hands.

After the heist at Gabba during the 2020-21 series, another Australian citadel looks set to fall in Perth on Monday. It was perhaps destiny that Kohli, arguably the most influential batter in the modern game, could play a role in what could be one of India’s most memorable Test wins in his century No.30 in this format. And yes, he now has the highest number of centuries by an overseas batter in Australia.  

 His reaction after reaching the three figures – which came after more than year in the West Indies – was one of relief more than anything else. It coincided with wife Anushka Sharma’s presence at the stadium and that’s something which seemed to have pleased him all the more than the business of proving a point to his critics. ‘’I don't want to hang around just for the sake of it, I take pride in performing for the country,’’ a relaxed Kohli later told TV pundit Adam Gilchrist.

Any feat by the master has, over the years, tended to overshadow his teammates’ contributions in terms of fanfare and media attention – but this Sunday belonged to young Jaiswal as much as it did to Kohli. At 22 and only in his second season in Tests, the Mumbaikar became only the fifth Indian opener to score 150-plus in an innings in Australia. A look at the other names show that he is in great company: Sunil Gavaskar (1986), Ravi Shastri (1992), VVS Laman (2001) and Virender Sehwag (2003 & 2008).

 When the overnight unbeaten pair of Jaiswal and KL Rahul started the day at 172 without loss, it looked a matter of time that the former would open up once he kept his date with a fourth Test century. He was merely reaping the rewards of all the patience and hard work of the previous day when the two openers dropped anchor on a wicket which had eased out but started showing a dual bounce.

Phenomenal year

 It had been a phenomenal year for Jaiswal in Tests as earlier this year, he had amassed an epic total of 712 runs in the four Tests against visiting England – which included two double centuries as he proved a real thorn in the flesh of Ben Stokes & Co. However, it was crucial that he proved himself in Australian conditions to make a statement about his class and the youngster was quick to do do after falling for nought in the first innings.

 There is still some cricket left to be played in this Test, but the way India showed their character for the last two and-a-half days have certainly exposed the fallibility of this Australian side. For all the hype created about the bouncy Perth wicket and Aussie plans to greet the visitors with the chin music, it was plain arrogance on their part not to factor in the Bumrah angle.

 If Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood showed they could hit the deck the hard, so could Bumrah and prove even more unpredictable with his unique action. With two full days’ play left and the hosts tottering at 12 at three, the result of the match can only go one way from here.