Since his debut, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been one of the hottest properties in Indian cricket, with his swashbuckling approach at the top of the order. While India didn’t give him a chance at the victorious T20 World Cup 2024, Jaiswal has shown his prowess against Zimbabwe in the ongoing five-match T20I series.
The left-handed batter scored a 27-ball 36 in the third T20I before smashing a whirlwind 53-ball 93 in the fourth T20I to help India seal a series win. Jaiswal didn’t fear any bowler in his knock of 93*, smashing 13 fours and two sixes in his innings, and showed why he is one of the most feared batters in world cricket currently.
On July 14 (Sunday), the left-hander took his game to another level with the greatest first-ball ever in T20I history (among the top ten teams). The Mumbaikar was gifted a freebie off the very first delivery when the Zimbabwean skipper Sikandar Raza bowled a waist-high full toss, which was gleefully sent across the boundary ropes.
Jaiswal didn’t spare Raza in the free hit either, with another gigantic six, taking India’s tally to 13 runs off just one legal delivery, scripting history. It was the first instance of any batter from the top ten teams scoring as many runs off the first ball.
Previously, 10 was the most runs any team had scored off the first ball (Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 2022 Asia Cup). It was also the fifth instance of India scoring two or more sixes in the first over of a T20I. However, Raza had the last laugh, with the Zimbabwean skipper castling the southpaw off the fourth ball of the innings.
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