Yashasvi Jaiswal, India's explosive opener, spoke about his exchange with Mitchell Starc of Australia on Day 2 of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. On Day 2, a thrilling clash with the bat and ball between Jaiswal and Starc drew a large crowd to watch the new star face off against a seasoned left-armer.
When Jaiswal blasted a straight ball from Starc high over midwicket to the boundary rope, things began to heat up. Starc beat Jaiswal's bat with determination, making him shake his head and chuckle. Jaiswal did not back down, shaking his head in response.
On the next delivery, Jaiswal executed a textbook backfoot defensive shot, which drew a chirp from Starc. The young opener hit back verbally, stating, "It's coming too slow."
Jaiswal hammered 161 runs in his second outing in Australia, after a duck in the first innings, and left the hosts in awe.
During the post-day press conference on Sunday, he was asked about the exchange and had a simple reply to it, "I felt it at that moment."
Jaiswal, who had already hammered for four centuries in Tests, was asked to choose his favorite. He responded in a loving manner, giving equal importance to every one of them. However, he admitted that the one in Perth would be meaningful to him.
"I think for me, all the centuries are amazing. But this will be special because I really wanted to do it. I worked hard in the practice session. I wanted to score runs in Australia," he added.
Furthermore, Jaiswal talked about his ‘fearless’ mindset and ability to make “brave decisions” as the catalysts behind his exceptional hundred. Jaiswal added 201 runs for the opening wicket with KL Rahul (77) as India posted 487/6d in their second innings, setting Australia a target of 534 to win.
“It was a very special moment for me. I always wanted to tour Australia and do well and this knock is very important for me. I always wanted to play with a fearless mindset. I always believe in myself and make brave decisions. So, it was an amazing experience to play against such quality bowlers in their country, and it's special to score a hundred against the world's best,” Jaiswal stated at the presser.
“The wicket was seaming a bit more in the first innings. In the second innings, we were discussing how to play the new ball better — which balls to leave and which to play. So, it was important for the team that I play the new ball better.
I never thought I would get this big a hundred, as my goals were small, taking it session by session. Then I had a good partnership with (KL) Rahul bhai. He was guiding me during the partnership, so that was helpful,” he added.
Jaiswal also spoke about the conversation between him and seasoned opener KL Rahul.
“Whenever I felt nervous in the middle, Rahul bhai was telling me to remain focused and calm. It was helpful because you are going to get some good balls in these kinds of pitches. We knew that the ball would bounce here. We were prepared for the bounce. We had a nice camp here ahead of this Test. We were practicing in similar conditions with the same kind of mindset as how we can score runs in these conditions. It's all about practicing hard and learning what shots to play here,” he explained.
Jaiswal brought up his fourth Test hundred with a remarkable ramped six off pacer Josh Hazlewood.
“To be honest, I knew he was going to bowl a bouncer because the field was set like that and I was ready for the bounce, and I was ready to play that shot. Happy that I pulled it off and carried on for some more time,” Jaiswal stated.
Jaiswal was full of praises for Virat Kohli, who made 100*, his 30th Test century and 81st in international cricket.
“I have seen Virat paaji making runs at Perth (in 2018) on TV. Now, I have seen it live too. He has been doing it for a long, long time. So, he is just incredible. “We were so happy for him that he could finish it. We were all waiting for his 100. He played amazingly,” he said.
(ANI inputs)
