Former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar reckons Yashasvi Jaiswal’s application was exemplary in the opening Test match against the West Indies at Windsor Park, Dominica. Jaiswal scored a fine knock of 171 runs on his Test debut and played an instrumental role in helping India post a gargantuan total of 421-5 in the first innings and also their huge win of an innings and 141 runs.
The left-hander showed all the patience in his debut innings and batted at the top of his game. The youngster added a fine opening alliance of 229 runs with skipper Rohit Sharma, who scored 103 runs.
The southpaw’s score of 171 is the third-highest for any Indian batter on his Test debut after Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Furthermore, Jaiswal showed great maturity in his game as he faced a total of 387 balls. Moreover, the youngster scored 16 fours and one six in his match-winning knock, for which he was awarded Player of the Match.
“I reminded him about the significance of the opportunity and told him that he shouldn’t let it go but grab it with both hands. I also told him to be consistent since at this level consistency matters. Single-minded devotion has to be there. Work hard and be focused, and then things will fall into place,” said Vengsarkar while talking to the Telegraph.
The former right-hander hailed Jaiswal for making the most of his first opportunity at the top level in Test cricket.
“I’m happy that he has managed to establish himself at the first given opportunity. His application was exemplary, and the discipline and determination Jaiswal showed to perform will help him a long way in his career.”
Vengsarkar lauded the 21-year-old Mumbai batter for his shot selection and feels he didn’t let any scoring opportunity go by.
“The most important thing during his innings was that he never let go of an opportunity to score, and there weren’t any loose shots. Such has been his focus on debut that you have got to applaud.”
Jaiswal will look to continue the good show in the second Test match against the Windies. The second Test match will be played from 20th July at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
