Leeds: Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill announced their readiness to carry India’s batting into the post Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma era, striking marvellous hundreds to guide the visitors to a dominant 359/3 against a faltering England on the first day of the opening Test here on Friday.
Gill (127 batting) and Jaiswal (101, 159 balls) shared a 129-run partnership for a determined third wicket alliance that carried India to 221 from a slightly wobbly 92/2 after KL Rahul (42) and debutant B Sai Sudharsan (0) were dismissed in quick succession.
Rishabh Pant (65 batting) was keeping vigil with Gill at close.
But there was an underlying significance to the centuries of Jaiswal and Gill other than giving India a head-start on the first day of the newly-minted five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
This Indian batting line-up is a tad thin on experience after the recent retirements of former skippers Kohli and Rohit, who played at the pivotal No. 4 and opening slots in their illustrious careers.
Both Jaiswal and Gill are not newcomers to the unforgiving Test arena, but there has been this widespread anxiety over how the ‘New Gen’ India stars would step into the big shoes of their predecessors.
But the portends are quite bright, if the day’s innings by Jaiswal and Gill are anything to go by.
Jaiswal was the first to reach the three-figure mark, the fifth in his flourishing career, off 144 balls and Gill reached his own landmark off 140 balls in the final passage of the day, heralding the start of a new era in Indian cricket.
But the way they reached that point was entirely different. Jaiswal eschewed his natural flair as the first session offered its own share of assistance to the English bowlers in the shape of movement and carry.
However, it was an altogether different matter that the home bowlers were not prudent enough to exploit that offering, and later the pitch eased up considerably.
But a flaccid track and a fangless England attack without James Anderson or Stuart Broad could not take the sheen out of the knocks of Jaiswal and Gill. It was not a typical Jaiswal innings where he simply flayed the bowlers around, but he showed admirable self-restraint, particularly outside the off-stump.
The left-hander was dismissed in that channel a couple of times while playing for India A against the England Lions in the recent tour matches, but here the 23-year-old did not repeat his mistakes.