WI vs IND, 1st Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal making most of debut with century as 'Team India chances are difficult to come by'

Yashasvi Jaiswal is currently on 143 runs after completing an impressive ton on Day 2 of the 1st Test between India and West Indies

SportsTak

• Fri • 14 Jul 2023

Yashasvi Jaiswal is currently on 143 runs after completing an impressive ton on Day 2 of the 1st Test between India and West Indies, and the youngster was understandably emotional as he basked in his moment of glory.

Speaking after stumps on Day 2, Jaiswal revealed the many thoughts in his head while scoring for his team. "I think this is one of the emotional knock for me, it's difficult to get opportunities in the Indian team, I would like to thank everyone, the supporters, team management and Rohit bhai," he said.

"The pitch is on the slower side and the outfield is very slow, it was difficult and challenging, it was pretty hot and I wanted to keep doing it for my country, just play ball-by-ball and enjoy my cricket. I love Test cricket, I like this challenge, I enjoy the situation when the ball swings and seams.

"We have worked hard on everything, I've just gone out to express myself. Was an emotional moment (to hit a century), was just proud of myself, thankful for everyone, this is just a start and I want to do well going further."

Jaiswal became the 17th Indian batter to hit a century on his Test debut, joining the likes of Lala Amarnath, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag from yesteryears, as well as Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer in the more recent history. He is also the first batter to hit his debut Test century in the Caribbean.

The 21-year-old is also just the third Indian opener to hit a hundred on Test debut, following the footsteps of Shikhar Dhawan (187 against Australia in 2013) and Prithvi Shaw (134 against West Indies in 2018).

Jaiswal, who started the day at 40, reached his half-century with his first boundary of the night also a vindication of the team management's decision to promote him to the top on debut. He has only played 15 first-class matches in his career but averages an impressive 80+ with nine centuries to his name.

He completed his hundred on his Test debut in the 70th over, setting up and opening partnership of 229 runs with Rohit Sharma, who also completed his century before losing his wicket.