According to South Africa pace legend Dale Steyn, Yashasvi Jaiswal may have to temporarily give up his signature cut shot, similar to how Sachin Tendulkar briefly gave up the drive in Australia, after the India opener succumbed to the stroke once more in the second Test on Tuesday in Guwahati.
Day four of India’s second innings saw Jaiswal dismissed for 13 as he edged Marco Jansen while trying to cut a short-of-length delivery outside off, a move that has plagued him on multiple occasions.
“It’s his go-to shot, and breaking that instinct is tough. When you see the ball in your zone, you go for it. But maybe it’s something he needs to consciously cut down on,” Jiostar expert Steyn said on ‘Cricket Live’ programme.
“I remember Sachin once removed the drive from his game in Australia. Jaiswal may also need to say, ‘Unless it’s in a specific area, I won’t play it. In this area, I’ll trust my defence’.”
India needed a strong opening stand to meet the unlikely target of 549, but wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne caught Jaiswal when he flashed at the rising ball.
“It was a bit of a false shot by Jaiswal. It’s his default option — he likes playing that shot,” Steyn said.
“He is probably so used to right-arm bowlers angling the ball across him that playing that shot feels natural. But with Marco Jansen being a left-armer, it looks like the ball will angle away and give him room, but very often it’s tighter than he expects.
“That’s why he sometimes drags the ball back onto his stumps or edges it. As it pitches, it often straightens instead of going across, and that’s how it finds the edge — either side of the bat — leading to bowled, caught in slips, or caught behind.”
Anil Kumble, a legendary Indian spinner, too called the dismissal avoidable.
“It was a poor shot from Yashasvi Jaiswal. They certainly tested both the openers, and Jaiswal in particular got a lot of short-pitched deliveries from Marco Jansen. Eventually, he fell playing his favourite cut shot — a shot he has scored many runs from, but also gets out to. He was trying to force the pace and ended up getting out to Jansen.
“When you’re looking to score runs and when short deliveries keep coming, you feel that’s the only scoring option. Even the first ball Jaiswal faced in this innings was a short one that hit his glove.”
According to Kumble, the appearance of width was produced by Jaiswal’s propensity to retreat.
“Naturally he thought, ‘if it’s short and there’s any width, I’ll go for it’. But if you look at his footwork, he tends to fall back, which makes him believe there is room when there really isn’t. That’s probably why he went after the ball without control,” he said.
“The transfer of weight has to happen when you play the cut shot. Unfortunately for Jaiswal, the ball took the outside edge and went straight to the wicketkeeper.”
