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Starc switched the bails to play mind games with Yashasvi Jaiswal during the second session of the fifth day’s play at MCG, but the Indian star gave him a savage reply.
Yashasvi Jaiswal gives savage reply to Starc’s superstition jibe. (Picture Credit: Screengrab)
Young Indian opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has scored two fifties for India in the ongoing Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne, gave a savage reply to Australian pacer Mitchell Starc on Monday (December 30) after he switched the bails and asked Jaiswal if he believes in superstition. The incident took place during the second session of the ongoing fifth day’s play of the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Starc switched the bails to play mind games with Jaiswal, but the 23-year-old Indian star reversed the bails. Post Jaiswal’s act, Starc, who dismissed Virat Kohli in the morning session of the Melbourne Test, asked him, “Do you believe in superstition?” to which he replied by saying, “I just believe in myself; that’s why I am here.”
Starc then asked him, “Why’d you change it back for, if you’re not superstitious?” to which Jaiswal responded, “I’m just enjoying this moment in my life.”
Jaiswal, who became the fourth Indian batter after Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar to score more than 1400 Test runs in a calendar year on Monday, is key to India’s chances of winning the Boxing Day Test at MCG. Australia has set a target of 340 runs for India to chase down in the fourth innings and win the third Boxing Day Test in a row at the MCG.
The left-handed batter completed his fifty with a boundary in the second session of the fifth day and has added more than 70 runs for the fourth wicket with Rishabh Pant to keep the Aussies at bay. Jaiswal will be keen to convert his good start into a big century and finish a memorable year for him on a high.
If he manages to score 170 runs in the second innings, then he will also break Tendulkar’s record of scoring the most Test runs in a calendar year for India and also leapfrog Joe Root to become the leading run scorer in Test cricket in 2024. Root, who sits at No. 1 position in the ICC Test batter’s ranking, finished 2024 with 1556 runs in 17 matches.
