New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) India’s legendary spinner Anil Kumble heaped praise on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s marathon knock of 173 not out on the opening day of the second Test against West Indies and asserted that the southpaw has a chance to raise his maiden triple hundred on Saturday.

Jaiswal, in his 25-Test career so far, has amassed over 2000 runs in the format, including seven centuries and 12 half-centuries since making his debut in the West Indies two years ago. Of the seven centuries Jaiswal has scored so far, five have been innings of 150 runs or more.

Remarkably, each of his first four hundreds crossed the 150-run mark, making him only the second player after Graeme Smith to achieve this rare milestone. The only exceptions came during his two centuries in England earlier this year, both of which were scores below 150.

“Jaiswal is just getting better and better day by day. We’ve spoken about his hunger and his attitude toward building big innings, not just for himself but for the team. Even in the previous game, he got off to a good start but was dismissed early, so he’s certainly made up for that here,” Kumble said on JioHotstar’s ‘Amul Cricket Live’.

“Throughout his short career, he has shown that he doesn’t waste opportunities like these. Once he’s in, he makes it count, and that’s wonderful to see. He’s still out there, and he can go on to score big runs tomorrow.

“As Sai Sudharsan mentioned, they certainly want to bat as long as possible. Shubman Gill said at the toss that they want to pile on the runs, and that’s exactly what the Indian batters have done on Day 1. Jaiswal now has a great opportunity, not just for a double hundred, but maybe even a triple hundred tomorrow,” he added.

Jaiswal received the right support from Sai Sudharsan, who scored a fine 87, while captain Shubman Gill remained unbeaten on 20 as India reached 318/2 at stumps on day one at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

–IANS

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