"He is even above Sir Don Bradman" - Aakash Chopra lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal's conversion rate

Aakash Chopra has lauded Yashasvi Jaiswal for scoring a century in India's first innings of the second Test against India. He was particularly appreciative of the youngster's hunger to convert his starts into substantial knocks.

Jaiswal scored an unbeaten 179 off 257 deliveries as India ended Day 1 in Visakhapatnam on Friday (February 2) at 336/6. He has Ravichandran Ashwin for company at the crease and will hope to score his maiden Test double century on the second morning.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that Jaiswal's knock was another demonstration of his ability to convert fifties into hundreds. He elaborated (5:30):

"The most fantastic performance came from Yashasvi Jaiswal's bat. How well the kid batted. Jimmy Anderson was the only pacer and he kept leaving his deliveries. He gave a lot of respect to James Anderson's bowling."

"When spin came, he hit two fours in the first over. After that, he showed why this player is so special. His conversion rate of fifties into hundreds for players who have 10 or more centuries in first-class cricket, he is even above Sir Don Bradman at this point in time," the former India opener added.

Among players who have scored at least 10 first-class centuries, Jaiswal's conversion rate of 73.33% is the best. He has amassed 2435 runs at an outstanding average of 76.09 in 21 first-class games, including the ongoing second Test against England, with the help of 11 hundreds and four fifties.

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"Yashasvi Jaiswal on one side and the rest of the Indian team on the other" - Aakash Chopra

Yashasvi Jaiswal has struck 17 fours and five sixes during his innings. [P/C: Getty]

Aakash Chopra noted that Yashasvi Jaiswal was the saving grace for India in the first day's play. He reasoned:

"Yashasvi is living up to his name. He shows every time that he is absolutely stellar. He is standing alone on 179 because the second-highest is not even 40. So Yashasvi Jaiswal on one side and the rest of the Indian team on the other."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the youngster gave a masterclass on batting against spin on a true pitch. He stated:

"He showed how you need to play spin on a surface that is playing like a true Indian surface. It is not a bad pitch, there isn't too much help for spin, on Day 1 of course. He smothered the full deliveries and hit them hard. He didn't have any hesitation to hit in the air and reached his century with a six."

Chopra concluded by saying that Jasiwal's performance papered over the cracks in the Indian batting slightly. He observed that the relative newcomer held the innings together while more experienced players like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer were found wanting.