
Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India opened their campaign in Asian Games 2023 with a 23-run win over Nepal on Tuesday (October 3). Riding on Yashasvi Jaiswal's maiden T20I ton (49-ball 100) and Rinku Singh's 15-ball 37 not out, India posted 202 for 4 and restricted the opposition to 179 for 9. With the win, India have progressed to the semi-finals. Jaiswal continued his rich form and scored his first-ever T20I century. In addition, he surpassed Shubman Gill to achieve a major Indian record.
Jaiswal, at the age of 21 years and 279 days, went past Gill's T20I record of being India's youngest-ever centurion in the shortest format. It is to be noted that the right-hander scored his maiden T20I hundred against New Zealand early this year. The 24-year-old Gillhad smashed an impressive 126 not out, the highest individual score by an Indian in the format. Back then, Gill was 23 years old.
Talking about Jaiswal, the left-hander has been in sublime form this year. He ended IPL 2023 as the fifth-highest run-getter (with 625 runs in 14 games, including a best of 124). He carried his form during India's all-format tour of West Indies, slamming an impressive 171 on his Test debut and was among the runs in the five T20Is as well. Now, the youngster has started the Asian Games with a bang. Hence, he will be desperate to carry on with the momentum and take India to gold at the games -- where he also became the country's first-ever centurion on Tuesday.
Jaiswal is surely ticking all the boxes at the moment and is emerging as a strong contender to open for India in the next year's T20 World Cup, in West Indies and the USA. However, the mega event is still far away, hence, he would like to maintain consistency in the upcoming months.
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