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As someone who has seen him grow from close quarters, Jwala Singh always had this deep-down conviction that Yashasvi Jaiswal will make a good start in national colours and the former coach is glad that his ward is proving him right.
The 21-year-old on Thursday became the 17th Indian player to score a century on debut in Test cricket after he reached the three-figure mark on day two of the ongoing first Test against West Indies.
Jaiswal reached an unbeaten 143 from 350 balls on the second day, giving India a healthy lead of 162 runs in the first innings after the West Indies was bowled out for a mere 150 on the opening day in Dominica.
"I am happy to see him grow. I had some feeling that he would start well. He has spent four good seasons in the IPL and also in domestic cricket. He has played most of the world-class bowlers under a lot of pressure, especially in the IPL,” Jwala, who was in transit in the UK when Jaiswal brought up his century, told PTI.
"He has the idea about playing with top quality bowlers. As a player, it is important to have the habit of making runs. As a coach I always teach my players to see the ball and not the bowler, and try to react to the ball well.
"There will always be nine fielders, whatever match you play, whether it's T20 or one-day or Test. As a batter, you need to be in the present and face each and every ball on merit and believe in your ability. I am glad that Yashasvi is able to do this on the ground and is proving me right."
Jaiswal had moved to Dadar in Mumbai at the age of 10 to receive cricket training at Azad Maidan.
On Thursday, Jaiswal became the fourth batter on the trot from Mumbai to make a debut Test century for India, joining the likes of Shreyas Iyer (vs New Zealand, 2021), Prithvi Shaw (vs West Indies, 2018) and India captain Rohit Sharma (vs West Indies, 2013).
"I think this will be a very good start in international cricket, but he needs to keep it simple. As a player it is important to do your best for the team, scoring runs for the team is a job for any player, and then look ahead," Jwala said.