The cut shot has become a bit of a problem for Yashasvi Jaiswal. His wicket in the fourth innings of the India-South Africa Test in Guwahati against left-arm pacer Marco Jansen was the seventh time he got out playing the shot in Test cricket — a huge share of an otherwise productive cricket shot in his 50 career dismissals.

Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn believes that South Africa, and particularly Jansen, have figured out Jaiswal’s weakness in not understanding the movement. Indeed, it was the third time the Indian opener got out to Jansen in four innings and the ninth time to left-arm pace overall in Tests.
“He is probably so used to right-arm bowlers angling the ball across him that playing that shot feels natural," Jiostar expert Steyn said on the Cricket Live programme. “But with Marco Jansen being a left-armer, it looks like the ball will angle away and give him room, but very often it’s tighter than he expects. That’s why he sometimes drags the ball back onto his stumps or edges it. As it pitches, it often straightens instead of going across, and that’s how it finds the edge — either side of the bat — leading to bowled, caught in slips, or caught behind."

Steyn advised him to learn from Sachin Tendulkar’s famous no-cover-drive knock in Sydney in 2003.

“It’s his go-to shot, and breaking that instinct is tough," Steyn said. “When you see the ball in your zone, you go for it. But maybe it’s something he needs to consciously cut down on. I remember Sachin once removing the drive from his game in Australia. Jaiswal may also need to say, ‘Unless it’s in a specific area, I won’t play it. In this area, I’ll trust my defenc’. It was a bit of a false shot by Jaiswal. It’s his default option — he likes playing that shot," he added.

Jaiswal was looking to counter Jansen by taking him on, even as the quick continued with the relentless plan of bowling it short to him. Former India captain Anil Kumble felt that Jaiswal only had an ‘illusion of width’.

“Naturally, he thought, ‘if it’s short and there’s any width, I’ll go for it’. But if you look at his footwork, he tends to fall back, which makes him believe there is room when there really isn’t. That’s probably why he went after the ball without control," he said. “The transfer of weight has to happen when you play the cut shot. Unfortunately for Jaiswal, the ball took the outside edge and went straight to the wicketkeeper."