Ashwin takes 33rd five-wicket haul to give India the upper hand. Debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal showed remarkable temperament, while skipper Rohit Sharma his natural flair as both scored their twin tons in a record opening stand to put India in complete control
Roseau (Dominica): The constant search for excellence has pushed off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to new heights, but by his own admission, it has also been “incredibly draining”, a PTI report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says
Meanwhiile, Debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal showed remarkable temperament, while skipper Rohit Sharma his natural flair as both scored their twin tons in a record opening stand to put India in complete control of the first Test against West Indies here on Thursday, July 13.
India galloped to 245/2 at tea on the second day. Jasiwal (116 batting off 244 balls) and Rohit (103 off 221 balls) totally dominated the game iin the post-lunch session. The India skipper was out immediately after scoring his 10th Test hundred.
The openers put up India’s best stand of 229 against West Indies, beating 201 set by Sanjay Bangar and Virender Sehwag back in 2001.
Jaiswal became the third Indian opener after Shikhar Dhawan (vs Australia in 2013) and Prithvi Shaw (vs West Indies in 2018) to score a hundred on Test debut. Shubman Gill’s first game as No. 3 didn’t start off well.
“This is just the start”, says Yashasvi Jaiswal after Test debut ton
As Yashasvi Jaiswal entered the record books, becoming just the third Indian opener and 17th overall to score a century on Test debut, the rising young talent said it is just the beginning and he’s looking forward to contributing more in the future.
Resuming on the overnight score of 40 on Day 2 , Jaiswal went on to slam his first ton and remained unbeaten on 143 at the close of play as India took a 162-run first innings lead.
After the match, Jaiswal thanked the management as well as the Indian captain for their support.
“I’ve just gone out to express myself, thankful for everyone, this is just a start and I want to do well going further,” Jaiswal said after the match.
He further went on to say that the moment he reached the three-digit mark was emotional for him considering how hard it is for players to get opportunities in the team.
“I think this is one of the emotional knock for me, was just proud of myself, it’s difficult to get opportunities in the Indian team”, Jaiswal added.
Finally, he went to highlight how challenging it was to score runs on a ground where the outfield is slow and the pitch is a slow track which makes it difficult for the batsmen to score runs.
Jaiswal’s debut Test ton has made him the 17th player from India to score three figures on his Test debut. Along with this, the left-hander is also only the third Indian opener to make a Test hundred on debut after Shikhar Dhawan (187 v Australia, 2013) and Prithvi Shaw (134 v West Indies, 2018).
Off-spinner Ashwin (36), the No. 1 Test bowler at the moment, became the third Indian to reach the 700-wicket milestone in international cricket. With 702 wickets (479 in Tests, 151 in ODIs and 72 T20Is), Ashwin sits behind Anil Kumble (956) and Harbhajan Singh (711).
After the close of play on Day 1, he was asked about his long journey in international cricket and the ups and downs along the way, including the recent exclusion from the WTC final against Australia.
“There is no cricketer or human being in this world that has not gone through the highs without the lows,” Ashwin said. “When you have the lows, it gives you two choices, either you sulk or talk about it and then complain about it and go along with it and go down. Or you learn from it. So I’m someone who’s constantly learnt from my lows,” he added.
“After this good day, I’ll have a good meal, talk to my family, go to bed and then forget about it. But even when you’ve had a good day, there are areas you can work on and get better. This constant search for excellence has held me in good stead, but it’s also been incredibly draining. It’s not a journey that’s been very easy,” he added.
Good bounce
Ashwin, who was introduced into the attack as early as the ninth over, made full use of the bounce on offer at Windsor Park.
The West Indies batsmen toffered little resistance and Ashwin was too good for them. “There was some bounce from the wicket, especially from the pavilion end. The wicket had some slope also which gave us bounce. But we utilised the first session very well.,” he added.
Scoreboard
West Indies 1st innings 150
India 1st innings
Y Jaiswal not out 116
R Sharma c Da Silva b Athanaze 103
S Gill c Athanaze b Warrican 6
V Kohli not out 4
Extras: (b 6, lb 5, w 5) 16
Total: (2 wickets, 81 overs) 245
FOW: 1-229, 2-240
Bowling O M R W
Kemar Roach 11 1 31 0
Alzarri Joseph 11 1 56 0
Rahkeem Cornwall 11 3 22 0
Jomel Warrican 23 2 66 1
Jason Holder 12 4 27 0
Kraigg Brathwaite 4 0 7 0
Alick Athanaze 8 1 24 1
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