Irani Cup 2023: Records tumble as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhimanyu Easwaran dominate MP bowlers

Emerging Mumbai batter Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed a superlative double century while Abhimanyu Easwaran notched up a ton for the Rest Of India in the first innings of the Irani Cup against Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday (March 1).

Riding upon sublime batting efforts from Jaiswal and Easwaran, ROI posted a 484 for the loss of 4 wickets against Madhya Pradesh.

Jaiswal's 213 off 259 balls was well complemented by opener Easwaran's 154 (240 balls) after skipper Mayank Agarwal missed out on a run-feast on a batting belter. Yash Dhull scored 55 off 71 balls.

Jaiswal and Easwaran break records

The duo added a whopping 371 runs for the second wicket before both were dismissed in quick succession during the fag end of the day. Jaiswal was dismissed by MP pacer Avesh Khan.

This partnership of 371 between Jaiswal and Easwaran is the highest stand for any wicket in the history of the Irani Cup.

They have surpassed Ravi Shastri and Pravin Amre's record of 327 runs for the fourth wicket against Bengal in 1990. In that game, Shastri scored 217 and Amre was dismissed for 246.

Easwaran impresses with FC century

Easwaran completed his century way before Jaiswal. The Bengal right-hander, however, paled in comparison to the Mumbai southpaw's regal shot selection and the manner in which he dominated the two MP spinners -- off-break bowler Saransh Jain (0/103 in 24 overs) and left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya (0/90 in 20 overs).

Both spinners failed to hit the right length throughout the day and were short on most occasions. Since they failed to stop the scoreboard from ticking, there was no pressure on batters with as many as 47 boundaries and five sixes being hit on the day.

Jaiswal continues to impress

Jaiswal followed up his 265 in Duleep Trophy final with a double hundred in an Irani Cup game. He has had an underwhelming Ranji Trophy season in which he scored only 315 runs in five games with a single hundred and an average of 45, way less than his astounding career average of 81 in 15 first-class games. He hit 30 fours and five sixes during his innings.

In his short career, he has crossed the 50-run mark 10 times and out of those 10 knocks, he has converted them into a three-figure mark on eight occasions.

There were back-foot punches, and lofted shots but what stayed during the opening day's play was back-to-back boundaries off Avesh Khan just before the final hour of the day.

Double Centuries in Irani Cup

Yashasvi Jaiwal's 265 is the tenth double century in the history of the Irani Cup. Wasim Jaffer (286), Murali Vijay (266), Pravin Amre (246), Surinder Amarnath (235*), and Ravi Shastri (217) are the ones who slammed double tons in the tournament in the past. Jaffer's 286 in the 2018 Irani Cup was the last time a double century came from a batter's blade.