Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal shared insights into his marathon knock after the conclusion of the first day’s play of the second Test against England. He shed light on his thought process and the nature of the Visakhapatnam pitch.
“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. 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,” he said in the presser.
Regarding the pitch conditions, the young cricketer noted that the dampness of the wicket at the beginning of the day compelled him and opener Rohit Sharma to adopt a cautious approach. Jaiswal also elaborated on the pitch characteristics. The dynamic left-handed batter revealed that Rahul Dravid and Rohit were giving pep talks in between to boost his confidence.
“The pitch played a bit differently, in the morning, it was a bit damp and then it settled. 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.
In his maiden Test appearance, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir left an immediate impact by claiming the wicket of Rohit. Overcoming visa issues that prevented his participation in the first Test, Bashir expressed the “incredible feeling” of dismissing Rohit on his first day as a Test cricketer.
“It’s been a very special day. To get Rohit out, my first wicket, is an incredible feeling. I just let it all out. He’s a quality player, one of the best in the world, and a great player of spin as well,” he stated.
The off-spinner credited skipper Ben Stokes for instilling confidence in him during the team huddle. “In the huddle, he just said to go out there and enjoy it and remember why you started playing the game, and you’ve got nothing to lose. That gave me so much confidence going in. I’ve been around the guys for a while now, and they are so supportive and welcoming, and that gets the best out of you. It has been amazing,” he noted.
Reflecting on the day’s play, Bashir acknowledged the challenge of bowling in good conditions for batting and praised the team’s effort in picking up six wickets. “It was a tough pitch to bowl on. It didn’t offer too much. I thought the way the boys went about it was awesome, and for us to pick up six wickets and to get that late wicket of KS Bharat was massive.”