First day, first show

Roseau (Dominica), July 14

India batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal thanked Rohit Sharma for talking him through his Test debut yesterday after the left-hander scored an unbeaten 143 against West Indies in a sparkling opening partnership with his captain.

Jaiswal shared an opening stand of 229 with Rohit (103) as the tourists took control of the match at Windsor Park, closing the second day’s play at 312/2 after dismissing the hosts for 150.

The first India batsman to score a ton on debut outside Asia in over 21 years, Jaiswal said that Rohit’s insight and experience had been vital.

Tons on Debut outside india

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• Abbas Ali Baig (112) vs England,  Manchester, 1959
• Surinder Amarnath (124) vs New Zealand,  Auckland, 1976
• Pravin Amre (103)  vs South Africa Durban, 1992
• Sourav Ganguly (131)  vs England, London, 1996
• Virender Sehwag (105) vs South Africa, Bloemfontein, 2001
• Suresh Raina (120) vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2010 
• Yashasvi Jaiswal (171) vs West Indies, Roseau, 2023

“He kept telling me how to play on this wicket and where the runs will come from,” said Jaiswal.

“There was great communication between us before the game as well. He told me ‘You have to do it, you are the only person.’ I also kept thinking about it and how I need to prepare mentally and score runs. I have learned a lot and I hope to continue doing so,” he added.

The 21-year-old forged a reputation as a hard-hitting batter in the Indian Premier League this season, scoring the fastest fifty (13 balls) in the tournament’s history and making 625 runs to finish among the top five scorers.

But he showed he can adapt quickly to the Test arena, his runs against West Indies coming off 350 balls. “It feels good. It was an emotional moment and I enjoyed it a lot,” he said of his first Test experience. “I’m still batting and I hope to play as long as possible for the team. This is just the start of my career and I will try to stay focused and disciplined as I want to keep playing for India for a long time,” he added. — Reuters

West Indies in trouble

Roseau (Dominica): West Indies were in trouble at 27/2 in their second innings against India on the third day of the opening Test here today. India declared their innings at 421/5 and grabbed a first-innings lead of 271 runs. India had resumed the day at 312/2 with overnight centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli in the middle. Debutant Jaiswal finally got out for 171 off 387 balls, while Kohli was dismissed for 76 runs. PTI