Yashasvi Jaiswal hits back at Ben Stokes after England captain sledges him, argument continues for two balls

Yashasvi Jaiswal hits back at Ben Stokes after England captain sledges him, argument continues for two balls

Yashasvi Jaiswal is not the one to back away against the opposition's best. It became evident when he sledged Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Further proof came on Day 1 of the second Test against England when Jaiswal got involved in a bit of argy-bargy with Ben Stokes. This time, however, Jaiswal wasn't the one initiating it. It was the England captain who decided to have a few words with the young Indian opener, who simply responded.

Ben Stokes and Yashasvin Jaiswal exchange words during India vs England 2nd Test

All of it transpired in the 19th over. Stokes, after being slapped in tennis style by Jaiswal for four in the fourth ball, brought his length back slightly in the next ball. It was also closer to the stumps. Jaiswal tapped it with soft hands and set off for a quick single. As he was running past Stokes, the England captain said something.

As Stokes was walking back to his mark, Jaiswal said: "You don't wanna hear it from me, come on." Stokes heard this, he turned back and asked: "You don't wanna what?"

The exchange of words continued in the next ball. Stokes bowled another back-of-a-length delivery, Karun Nair defended it. Stokes, instead of going towards the ball, took a couple of steps towards Jaiswal and asked: "What were you saying?"

This time, Yashasvi Jaiswal decided to walk away without escalating the matter. Stokes said something again but when he saw Jaiswal walking towards the other end, he decided to go back.

The frustration for England against Jaiswal is understandable. The left-hander hit another fifty to stand tall and take India to 98 for two at Lunch. He has played 7 Tests against England and he has a 50-plus in each one of them.

Yashasvi Jaiswal played a composed yet increasingly confident innings, remaining unbeaten on 62 at lunch. He started cautiously on a dry, batter-friendly pitch, especially after the early dismissal of KL Rahul, who chopped onto his stumps for 2.

Partnering with Karun Nair, who was promoted to No. 3, Jaiswal gradually opened up, accelerating the scoring as the duo added 80 runs off 90 balls. He showcased his growing authority with a range of attacking strokes, including an inventive overhead volley off Ben Stokes and a stylish overhead cut to bring up his half-century off 58 balls. His knock featured 10 boundaries and reflected both maturity and flair. Though Nair’s dismissal just before lunch halted India’s momentum, Jaiswal’s innings stood out as the backbone of the session, laying a strong platform after a testing first hour against disciplined English bowling.

As fate would have it, Jaiswal was dismissed by Stokes 13 short of another Test hundred. It was a short and wide delivery from the England captain. Jaiswal, like he had many times on Wednesday and even in his short Test career, went at it with hard hands but this time, it caught the edge of his bat and landed into keeper Jamie Smith's hands.