Would love to double the score and play till the end for team: Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal has been nothing short of a revelation thus far in the series with his aggressive brand of cricket. While he scored 80 off 74 balls in the first innings of the first Test in Hyderabad, he backed it up with an attacking 179* here against England in Vishakapatnam. 

Having opted to bat first, India needed one of the two openers to go all guns blazing and score a big hundred, and it was Jaiswal who put his hand up. Jaiswal not only adapted to the damp conditions early on but ensured that his survival at the crease was later turned into a show-stopping hundred, stunning the visiting English side, becoming only the second youngest Indian to score a hundred at home. 

“I wanted to play it session by session. When they were bowling well, I just wanted to get through that spell. Initially, the wicket was damp and there was spin and bounce, with a bit of seam,” Jaiswal opened up on the initial threat post-day’s play. 

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Once he got past that, his aim was to convert the loose deliveries, which he received in abundance during the second session, where he motored on to his second century, his first since the Windies series. 

“However, I wanted to convert the loose balls, and play till the end. I would love to double this up, and play till the end for the team. I want to recover well for tomorrow now. The pitch played a bit differently, in the morning it was a bit damp and then it settled,” Jaiswal added after finishing the day on 179*. 

In doing so, Jaiswal also went past the 150-run mark, becoming the third youngest Indian batter to that milestone, only behind fellow Mumbaikars Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli. While India kept losing wickets at regular intervals from the other end, Jaiswal was truly a one-man show here in Vishakapatnam, taking the on-song English bowlers head-on. 

“With the older ball, there was some bounce. Rahul sir and Rohit bhai kept giving me the confidence and told me to convert this into a big innings, and stay till the end,” he added.