‘He kept explaining to me how to bat on this wicket…’: Yashasvi Jaiswal reveals backing he got from Rohit Sharma

Roseau (Dominica):  Young Indian opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made a spectacular hundred on Day Two of the Test match against West Indies, revealed the backing he received from captain Rohit Sharma while batting and said the skipper encouraged him to score big on his debut.

On the back of centuries from Jaiswal (143 not out) and Rohit (103) India maintained their upper hand in the first Test, reaching a dominant position of 312/2 in their first innings and a lead of 162 runs at the end of the second day on Thursday.

Jaiswal, who resumed on 40 not out, was watchful, accelerated after the lunch break on Day Two and completed a well-made hundred. Notably, his opening partner at the other end, skipper Rohit, had also made a Test hundred on debut, also against West Indies, in 2013.The left-handed opener became the 17th Indian to score a century on Test debut to make a hundred. The last one to do so was Shreyas Iyer in 2021 against New Zealand in Kanpur.

Speaking on his Test century on debut, the 21-year-old expressed that reaching the milestone was a deeply moving experience for him, and vowed to continue his progress when the play resumes on Friday.

“It feels really good. It was an emotional moment (getting 100). My batting is still going on so the effort will be to play as long as possible for the team. This is the start of my career so I’ll strive to take that as long as possible too and see how focussed and disciplined I can be going ahead,” Jaiswal said in the post-day press conference.

He further said he has dedicated his debut century to his parents while saying that it’s been a long journey for him.

“It was very emotional for me, for my family. And for all those who have supported me throughout because it has been a long journey for me. I want to thank everyone who has helped in any way along the way and I want to dedicate this to my parents because they’ve had a big influence on my life, and I want to thank God. Don’t want to say too much…I am happy, but this is the start. I need to keep up,” he added.

Jaiswal went on to reveal that he actively engaged in conversations with Rohit throughout the partnership, seeking his valuable insights on how to approach playing at the venue. Rohit and Jaiswal stitched a 229-run opening stand, which is the second-highest for India in Tests in West Indies.

“I spoke a lot to Rohit bhaiya while batting. He kept explaining to me how to bat on this wicket and where the runs would come. We had very good communication between us.

“Before the game also, he was talking to me, telling me ‘You have to do it’. So I kept thinking about that and how I should prepare mentally and score runs. So, I think I’ve learnt a lot from this game and I’ll try to keep doing that going forward too.

“It makes a lot of difference when experienced players and legends of our team (like Rohit, Virat, Rahane) sit with you, talk to you… It makes a big difference because I keep learning from them,” the 21-year-old said.

When asked if the 200-mark landmark playing on his mind, Jaiswal said: “My aim is to give the team a good start on Day 3. Besides that, what happens, happens.”

Currently batting on 143, Jaiswal is only 44 runs short of Shikhar Dhawan’s 187 which is the highest individual score by an Indian batter on Test debut. With Kohli and Jaiswal in the middle, India will be looking to build a big lead on Day 3 at Windsor Park in Dominica.

–IANS