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India's young southpaw Yashasvi Jaiswal etched his name in the history book by slamming the most sixes in Test cricket in a calendar year by eclipsing former New Zealand power-hitter Brendon McCullum's 10-year-old record.
On Day 2 of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series opener against Australia, Jaiswal smoked the ball into the stands towards the end of the day's play. He danced around the crease and found the ideal connection to launch the ball over the boundary rope off Nathan Lyon. This was Jaiswal's 34th Test maximum in 2024, surpassing McCullum's tally of 33, which he amassed in 2014. England Test captain Ben Stokes slipped to the third spot with 26 sixes that he tonked in 2022. Australia's destructive Adam Gilchrist and India's legendary opener Virender Sehwag struck 22 sixes each in 2005 and 2008, respectively. In the BGT, Jaiswal didn't have the most ideal start to his debut tour to Australia. He tried to go after Mitchell Starc's delivery, which was pitched up front. The movement was enough to force out an outside edge, which stayed low while travelling to Nathan McSweeney at gully. In his second turn on Day 2, Jaiswal held his temperament throughout his stay on the crease. With the grass coming off and the ball getting worn out, Jaiswal picked the deliveries to punish and increase Australia's woes. Along with his compatriot Kl Rahul, he forged a 172-run partnership, which propelled India's score to 172/0. This partnership marked India's highest opening stand in Tests in Australia since the 2004 SCG Test, where Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra put 123 on the board. Overall, the highest partnership is held by Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who stitched up a 191-run partnership in Sydney in 1986. With exceptional footwork from the duo, Rahul stayed unbeaten with a score of 62(153) while Jaiswal hammered an unbeaten 90(193), which has put India in possession of a commanding 218-run lead. (ANI)
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