Yashasvi Jaiswal made a dream debut for India in the first Test against West Indies in Dominica as he celebrated his inclusion in the side with an amazing century in his first outing and the cherry on top was that he was named Player of the Match as well after India won by an innings and 141 runs.
After bowling out West Indies for 150 runs in 1st innings, India went out and put up 421/5 declared in their first innings. Rohit Sharma scored an excellent 103 and added 229 runs with Jaiswal for the opening wicket.
Jaiswal continued on and scored a brilliant 171 in 387 balls, becoming the 17th Indian to make a century on Test debut and only the 3rd Indian opener to do so.
It was an amazing moment for 21-year-old who hails from Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh and moved to Mumbai to fulfill his cricketing dreams. To make ends meet, he did lots of odd jobs including selling panipuris and slept in tents with groundsmen of Azad Maidan.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Jaiswal's father revealed that the India opener gave him a call at around 4:30 AM in the morning during the Dominica Test.
“He should definitely be there,” Anil Kumble bats for Kuldeep Yadav’s selection in India’s Test team
“He called around 4:30 am in the morning (IST) after scoring his century (Day 2). He couldn't hold back his tears. I cried too. It was a very emotional moment. He could not talk for a long time. He was tired. He just asked me 'are you happy, father?'," said Jaiswal's father Bhupendra, who has a small paint shop in Bhadohi.
At 21 years and 196 days of age, the India opener is the fifth youngest batter to score a 150 on debut in Test cricket. He is the seventh Indian to notch up a century on debut in an away Test match. He also managed to break Mohammad Azharuddin's record as he became the Indian batter to have faced the most number of balls on Test debut.
"It felt very nice getting the Player-of-the-Match award on debut. It's been a long journey, feeling very happy and good about it. Let's see what the future holds for me, this is just the start (of my international career). Pray to God that I continue playing like this, keep making (such) efforts and keep contributing for the team," Jaiswal said after the match.
