
Yashasvi Jaiswal is cut for great things in life. The young left-handed batter made a stunning debut against West Indies in the first Test in Dominica, hitting 171 in the first innings - the third-highest individual total scored by an Indian debutant in Tests. Captain Rohit Sharma, who, 10 years back, scored a brilliant 177 against the same side on his Test debut in Kolkata, lauded Jaiswal, adding he was most impressed with his temperament and ability to stick with the plans and deliver.
Jaiswal opened alongside Rohit, and the pair stitched a 229-run stand for the first wicket. While he remained unbeaten on 143 after playing 350 balls – batting throughout day two, Jaiswal could add just 28 runs more before getting out to Alzarri Joseph for a well-made 171 early on day three.
He played 387 balls and lasted 501 minutes at the crease – the longest by an Indian on Test debut. He also earned the Player of the Match award for his outstanding outing.
The game, however, ended inside day three, thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin’s 12-wicket haul that saw India beat West Indies by an innings and 141 runs. Speaking to the media after the Test, Rohit talked highly of Jaiswal, saying he and the team management knew about his credentials and that the young batter has shown what he can achieve on the bigger stage.
"He's got the talent," Rohit said of Jaiswal. "We knew about it. He's shown us in the past couple of years that he's ready for this big stage. Came and batted sensibly, showed a lot of patience, and the temperament was tested as well - at no stage [did it look] like he was panicking or going away from his plans, which was good to see."
Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shared 17 wickets among them in the first Test, and Rohit didn’t have anything else to say about them than just showering praises.
"The results speak for themselves," Rohit said of the two spinners. "Both of these guys have been doing it for a while for us now. They know exactly what is expected out of them. There's not much to tell them [about] what we need to do. It's just about going to them and giving them that freedom to go and express because that is when they're doing their best for the side as well.”
The second Test will begin on July 20th at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.
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