Hyderabad: It has been a long and arduous journey for young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, from selling 'Panipuri' in Mumbai to joining the illustrious list of Indian batters to score a century on his Test debut. He became the 17th Indian batter to slam a hundred on Test debut.
The southpaw slammed an unbeaten 143 on the second day of the first Test against the West Indies at Dominica as he took a listless Opposition attack to task to put the visitors in complete command. In reply to West Indies' 150, India was comfortably poised at 312/2, with Jaiswal having former skipper Virat Kohli for company.
Jaiswal joined the likes of Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly (Lord's 1996), Pravin Amre (Durban 1992), Surinder Amarnath, and Abbas Ali Baig and became only the seventh Indian batter and the first in 13 years to score a Test hundred on debut away from home. Suresh Raina, who made 120 against Sri Lanka in 2010, was the last Indian batter to score a Test ton on debut outside India.
Among the other Mumbai batters who have achieved the rare milestone are Rohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw (2018 Rajkot against West Indies), and Shreyas Iyer (2021 Kanpur against New Zealand). Coincidentally Rohit was at the other end when Jaiswal reached the three-figure mark and the India captain too scored a hundred.
Like every other kid, who aims of playing for India, the left-handed batter Jaiswal, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, migrated to the megacity of Mumbai to pursue his dream. But life in the metropolis wasn't easy for Jaiswal. Those who have tracked his journey recalled that braving all the odds, the southpaw stayed in a tent at a South Mumbai maiden (ground) and even sold Panipuris (an Indian snack) for a living.
However, like the famed Ramakant Achrekar-shaped cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar at the Shivaji Park in central Mumbai, Yashasvi Jaiswal found his Guru in Jwala Singh. It was Jwala Singh, who runs a cricket academy at the Air India ground in Santacruz, a suburb of Mumbai, who spotted extraordinary talent in Jaiswal and decided to take him under his wings. And as they say, the rest is history.
Jwala and Jaiswal, on a mission, put in the hard yards for years and the results started showing. Jaiswal began to shine brightly in age group cricket and on the back of some terrific performances made to the India U19 team which played a junior World Cup in South Africa. Jaiswal emerged as the leading run-scorer in the Under 19 World Cup and also performed well in domestic cricket, and was banking on the doors of the selection committee.
After his impression show in the cash-rich IPL, where he played for Rajasthan Royals, the 'five wise men' decided to give Jaiswal a chance and the latter grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Jaiswal, who became the third Indian opener to score a hundred on Test debut, dedicated it to his parents. The two other Indian openers to slam a century on Test debut were Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw.
"Of course, it was emotional for me, my family, and all those who have supported me," Jaiswal said at the post-day press conference. "Because it has been a long journey. I just want to thank everybody, who helped me in whichever way and I want to dedicate this hundred to my parents, who have had a big contribution in my life," added the southpaw.
According to Jaiswal, it was just the start. The left-handed batter has continued Mumbai tradition, which has given fine batters like Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Sudhir Naik, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sachin Tendulkar, Sandeep Patil, Vinod Kambli, Rohit Sharma among others, who have made the domestic giants proud on an international platform. Now it just remains to be seen wherever Jaiswal can convert it to "Daddy Hundred" on the third day.
