"He is very different from Sehwag" - Former opener lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal’s majestic 173* on Day 1 of 2nd IND vs WI 2025 Test

Former India opener Aakash Chopra heaped praise on Yashasvi Jaiswal for his brilliant unbeaten century on Day 1 (Friday, October 10) of the second Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Opting to bat first, Jaiswal was brilliant for India, reaching his seventh Test hundred.

The southpaw didn’t stop there and continued to dominate, ending the day with a magnificent unbeaten 173 off 253 balls, hitting 22 fours.

Following the day’s play, Chopra lauded the 23-year-old’s maturity, highlighting that Jaiswal’s approach is quite different from Virender Sehwag’s. While Sehwag was known for his all-out attacking style, Jaiswal, he noted, builds his innings patiently and aims for big scores. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said:

“People often compare him to Virender Sehwag, but he is actually very different from Sehwag. Sehwag’s approach was simple. He would walk in, start hitting from ball one, and his philosophy was to keep attacking and, if possible, score a hundred before lunch without holding back. Yashasvi is not like that. His mindset is different. Right now, he is playing only one format and does not get too many chances in others. If he sees that the pitch is good and he has already played one solid innings, he starts steadily. He stays comfortable, plays patiently, leaves the ball when needed, and keeps building his innings.”

“There is no ego, no rush. He is calm. He is fine making 40 runs before lunch and is completely okay with that. But once lunch was over, he began attacking with boundaries after boundaries because by then he was well set. The opposition looked a bit dazed, almost knocked out, and he knew how to capitalize on that. Even then, he was not reckless. This is not the same player who jumps around and smashes every ball like the one who once danced down the track and hit James Anderson. He is watching even the left-arm spinners carefully, thinking that he wants to make a big hundred and score a lot of runs,” he added.

Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan also impressed with 87 off 165 balls, which included 12 boundaries. The hosts finished the day strongly at 318/2 after 90 overs.

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“He knows this is when to cash in so that his average goes up significantly” - Aakash Chopra on Yashasvi Jaiswal

In the same video, Aakash Chopra further praised Yashasvi Jaiswal for making the most of the opportunity while playing against a relatively weaker opposition. Chopra said:

“That shows his hunger, which is incredible. Absolutely outstanding. It also shows his understanding and maturity. You can call it a measured approach, but I would call it pure maturity. He knows that if he gets a flat pitch and a slightly weaker opposition, which does not happen often, he has to make the most of that opportunity. He knows this is when to cash in so that his average goes up significantly.”

Featuring in his 26th Test, Yashasvi Jaiswal has amassed 2418 runs at an average of at an average of 53.73 with 12 fifties and seven hundreds to his name.