The way Yashasvi applied himself on the wicket was very good to see, says bowling coach Mahmbrey

Roseau (Dominica): India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey heaped praise on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for showing great application as per the conditions on offer during his magnificent 171 on Test debut in the first Test against West Indies at Windsor Park Stadium.

Jaiswal, 21, was named Player of the Match in India’s victory by an innings and 141 runs to wrap up the match in three days. Jaiswal’s 171 is the third-highest score by an Indian batter in his debut Test innings.

Jaiswal faced 387 balls, which is the longest innings played in terms of balls by an Indian batter on Test debut while sharing a mammoth 229-run opening stand with captain Rohit Sharma.

“The way he batted; it was fabulous. It was a slow wicket and got slower as the game progressed, stroke-making wasn’t easy. If you look at the way he’s batted earlier, he’s the kind of guy who likes to take on the game, likes to play his shots. But the way he applied himself on that wicket was very good to see.”

“That’s what you need at the international level, to be able to adapt yourself to different conditions and situations, and that was expected by the team. He did the role for the team so it’s definitely very heartening and positive to see. This performance will give him a lot of confidence and hold him good going ahead in his career,” said Mhambrey in the post-match press conference.

Apart from Jaiswal, the experienced spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja played crucial roles in India getting off to a winning start in the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle.

After taking a five-wicket haul in the first innings, Ashwin picked up seven wickets in the second. On the other hand, left-arm spinner Jadeja grabbed three wickets in the first innings and two in the second.

“When we came on the first day, the pitch looked a little dry and from the stats we’d seen of the local games here, the spinners had dominated. So we felt that as the game would progress, it’d get tougher for batting.”

“One thing is how the wicket was, and the other was how we used that wicket. When we batted, it was important to play long and score big and we did that. That became the base for the bowlers. The way Ashwin and Jadeja bowled deserves a lot of praise,” added Mhambrey.

Taking match figures of 12 at Dominica was off-spinner Ashwin’s eighth ten-wicket haul in a Test match — equalling the tally held by legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble.

“He has been one of the greatest matchwinners from India, he’s right up there. The way he has won us so many matches can’t be praised enough. He has been performing for so many years, I can’t even put it into words,” stated Mhambrey.

India bowling out West Indies for just 150 and 130 was something Mhambrey wasn’t really expecting. “Honestly if you ask me, I didn’t expect it to be this easy. Yes, looking at the wicket, it was difficult as the day progressed, it started turning a little more, it was dry earlier on but the way we applied ourselves in terms of batting and bowling, I was extremely happy to see that.”

With the second Test to begin on July 20 at Port-of-Spain in Trinidad, Mhambrey signed off by saying they would like to take positives from the win in Dominica to winning the next game.

“A win like this makes a difference, especially when you finish a game within three days. There are a lot of positives to take from batting — the way we applied ourselves — and the bowling as well, the spinners played a part on a wicket that was turning. A lot of positives we take ahead and we just want to take this momentum into the second Test,”

–IANS