Yashasvi Jaiswal, the 22-year-old opening batsman of the Indian national cricket team, said that the innings he played on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh will help him become an even stronger player.
Jaiswal showed his class at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai on Thursday, September 19, and shifted his focus to help India out of trouble.
The left-handed batsman usually looks to launch an attack on the opposition with his aggressive batting but the situation did not allow him to play his natural game against Bangladesh as Rohit Sharma (6), Shubman Gill (0) and Virat Kohli (0) got out early.
Yashasvi Jaiswal batted cautiously after three star batsmen returned to the field and stitched a fine 62-run partnership with Rishabh Pant to restore India’s momentum. He also added 48 runs alongside KL Rahul.
Jaiswal was eventually dismissed by tall batsman Nahid Rana on the fourth ball of the 42nd over. He finished his innings with a score of 56 and collected those runs in 118 balls while hitting 9 boundaries.
Speaking after the end of the first day of play, he said that playing in different types of situations will help him improve his game and become a better player.
“It was amazing to go out and play in these conditions. It will make me stronger and I will learn from it how to play in all these conditions and how to plan my innings,” Yashasvi Jaiswal told reporters at the post-match press conference, as quoted by PTI.
“I try to bat as per the requirements of my team and keep modifying my game accordingly. If the wicket falls early, how can I bat? When the runs come, how can I bat?” he added.
I think he definitely bowled well, but at times he also gave away loose balls – Yashasvi Jaiswal on Hasan Mahmud
Yashasvi Jaiswal also revealed that the track at Chepauk was providing enough support to the players initially, so they had to be cautious with their approach.
“In the beginning, I think the ball was moving a little bit and bending a little bit and the wicket was a little bit down. So we took our time. But if you look at the last session, we scored pretty well and I think we are in a good position right now,” Yashasvi Jaiswal said.
“I think the wicket was a bit helpful at the beginning and if you look at the weather, it was a bit cloudy. But we were trying to get through that period by playing it safe.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal further denied calling Hasan Mahmud a big threat for India and said that he sometimes gave away loose balls. It is noteworthy that Mahmud did a great job in India’s top order by dismissing Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant.
“I think he definitely pitched well, but at times he also left loose balls that we scored runs on. We were talking about how we can use our feet.”
“We were trying to see if there was a loose ball to score runs and we were looking to build a partnership and play as long as we could,” he said.