Yashasvi Jaiswal capped off the India–South Africa ODI series with a sensational maiden century. After disappointing scores in the first two matches, the young opener rose to the occasion in the series decider and smashed his first ODI hundred in Visakhapatnam. He reached the milestone in the 36th over, taking 111 balls to get there — a remarkable turnaround in just his fourth ODI appearance.

A slow beginning, a strong finish
Due to Shubman Gill’s injury, Jaiswal was promoted to open the innings in this series. Before this, he had played just one ODI earlier in the year and had not been part of the format since then. His comeback didn’t start well: 18 runs in the first ODI, 22 in the second. With pressure building, the third match became crucial for him.

Even in Vizag, he began cautiously while chasing 271. Like his earlier matches, runs didn’t come easily at first. But alongside Rohit Sharma, he held his nerve, reached his first fifty in 75 balls, and then shifted gears. Once settled, Jaiswal opened up beautifully, accelerating towards his historic hundred.

A century reminiscent of MS Dhoni
Jaiswal’s knock brought back memories of MS Dhoni’s first ODI century at the same venue. In 2005, Dhoni had slammed 148 against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam—his maiden ODI hundred—in only his fifth ODI.

Two decades later, Jaiswal matched that storyline in almost identical fashion: an early-career century at Vizag, this time an unbeaten 116 off 121 balls (12 fours, 2 sixes), guiding India to a dominant 9-wicket victory and sealing the series.

A rare achievement: centuries in all three formats
With this innings, Jaiswal joined an elite group. He has now scored centuries in Tests, T20Is, and ODIs — becoming the sixth Indian batsman to achieve this triple-format milestone. He already has seven Test centuries to his name and a T20I century from the Asian Games. After three underwhelming ODI outings, his breakthrough hundred now places him firmly on the map in this format as well.