The appetite for big scores he has displayed suggests he is not satisfied with reaching Pujara's tally.
In the ancient theater of Test cricket, where patience and ambition are tested across days rather than hours, a 23-year-old from India stands 27 runs from joining a lineage of giants. Yashasvi Jaiswal, unbeaten on 173 against West Indies at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, is poised to claim his third Test double century — a tally that would place him alongside Cheteshwar Pujara in the record books. What makes this moment remarkable is not the number itself, but the age at which it arrives, and the quiet suggestion that this may only be the beginning of a much longer story.
- Jaiswal enters the second day of play needing just 27 runs to reach a double century that most batsmen never achieve even once in a career.
- At 23, he is rewriting expectations for what is possible early in a Test career, having already converted two previous innings into double centuries.
- The milestone would tie him with Pujara, but the real tension lies in what comes after — a ladder that climbs through Dravid, Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Sehwag, and ultimately Kohli's record of seven.
- India's commanding position of 318 for 2 at stumps on day one means Jaiswal will have every opportunity to bat deep and push the record further.
- The question is no longer whether he will reach 200, but how far his appetite — and the match situation — will allow him to go.
Yashasvi Jaiswal ended the first day of India's Test against West Indies in Delhi unbeaten on 173, with his team in a commanding position at 318 for 2. On the second day, October 11, he needed just 27 more runs to reach his third Test double century — a milestone that would tie him with Cheteshwar Pujara in Indian cricket's record books.
At 23, Jaiswal has already shown an uncommon appetite for long, substantial innings. Two double centuries in a young Test career signals not a batsman content with respectability, but one who has absorbed the ambitions of India's batting greats and is quietly building toward something larger.
The record books of Indian Test batting are dominated by a familiar hierarchy. Virat Kohli stands alone at the top with seven double centuries, four of them struck in a defining stretch between 2016 and 2017. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar each claimed six, though by entirely different means — Sehwag through explosive aggression, Tendulkar through precision and restraint. Rahul Dravid holds five, including a legendary 270 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi that lasted over twelve hours. Sunil Gavaskar sits at four, and Pujara at three.
What gives Jaiswal's moment its weight is not just the approaching milestone, but the age at which he is reaching it. Each double century he scores is less a destination than a stepping stone, and on that October morning in Delhi, the record books appeared to be waiting patiently for him to keep writing.
Yashasvi Jaiswal walked to the crease at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi with India already in a commanding position. By the end of the first day against West Indies, the home team had accumulated 318 runs with the loss of just two wickets. Jaiswal himself was unbeaten on 173—a score that placed him on the cusp of something significant. On the second day of play, October 11, he needed just 27 more runs to reach his third Test double century, a milestone that would tie him with Cheteshwar Pujara in the record books.
At 23 years old, Jaiswal has already demonstrated a hunger for substantial innings. Two double centuries in a relatively short Test career is not the work of a batsman content with modest contributions. The trajectory suggests something more ambitious: a player who has internalized the lessons of India's batting greats and is building a foundation that could eventually rival their legacies.
The landscape of Indian Test batting is dominated by a handful of names. Virat Kohli, who stepped away from Test cricket before the England tour, stands alone at the summit with seven double centuries. His run was particularly concentrated between 2016 and 2017, when he strung together four consecutive double centuries—a period that defined his captaincy. Behind him, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar each claimed six double centuries, though their approaches differed markedly. Sehwag's were often explosions of aggression, with four exceeding 250 runs and two reaching triple figures. Tendulkar's, by contrast, were exercises in restraint and precision—his unbeaten 241 against Australia in Sydney a masterclass in discipline, played without a single cover drive.
Rahul Dravid, the Wall of India, occupies fourth place with five double centuries. His 270 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi stands as a testament to endurance; he batted for more than twelve hours in that innings. Sunil Gavaskar, a legend of an earlier era, holds fifth place with four double centuries. Pujara, the player Jaiswal was poised to match, sits at three.
What makes Jaiswal's position noteworthy is not merely that he was approaching a milestone, but that he was doing so at an age when most batsmen are still learning the grammar of Test cricket. The appetite for big scores he has displayed—two double centuries already in his career—suggests he is not a batsman who will be satisfied with reaching Pujara's tally. If his form holds, if the hunger remains, he could eventually eclipse all of them. The record books are written by those who refuse to stop at the next milestone, who see each achievement as a stepping stone rather than a destination. On that October morning in Delhi, Jaiswal was writing the next chapter of that story.
Citas Notables
Having already scored two double centuries in his short Test career, Jaiswal clearly shows an appetite for big scores.— Source reporting on Jaiswal's trajectory
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What makes a double century in Test cricket different from any other milestone?
It's the distance. A century is expected of good batsmen; a double century is a statement. It says you've not only survived the bowlers but dominated them, often for an entire day or more. It's the difference between a good innings and a great one.
Jaiswal is 23. Does his age change how we should read this record chase?
Entirely. Kohli was in his late twenties when he was setting records. Tendulkar and Sehwag had years of experience. Jaiswal is doing this as a young man still learning the game. That's either the beginning of something extraordinary or a false start. Time will tell.
Why does the source emphasize that Sehwag's were explosive and Tendulkar's were controlled?
Because it shows there's no single way to accumulate runs at the highest level. Sehwag attacked; Tendulkar waited. Both reached six double centuries. Jaiswal will have to find his own method, his own rhythm.
If Jaiswal reaches three double centuries today, what happens next?
He becomes part of a conversation he's not yet earned the right to be in—the conversation about who might be the next great Indian batsman. But one double century doesn't make a career. He has to sustain it, year after year, against different bowlers, in different conditions.
The article says he has an appetite for big scores. Is that enough?
Appetite is where it starts. But appetite without technique, without temperament, without the ability to handle pressure—that's just ambition. Jaiswal seems to have more than appetite. But we're still in the early chapters.