Test cricket is tough, but I’m determined to make it count: Jaiswal

Playing an aggressive brand of cricket, Yashasvi Jaiswal has already hit two double hundreds in his nascent career and the young India opener says though Test cricket is “tough” he believes in making it big after getting a start.

The left-hander scored an unbeaten 214 off 236 balls to steer India to a commanding 430 for 4 declared in the second innings, setting England a mammoth target of 557 runs.

It was his second double hundred in just six matches, having made his debut against the West Indies in July 2023. Jaiswal also entered the record books by hitting the highest number of sixes (12) by an Indian in a Test innings.

“Test cricket is hard, but I thought that when I’m in there, I need to give my 100 per cent,” Jaiswal said after India took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

“I’m just trying. Whenever I’m set, I try to make it big. Because in Test cricket you never know, when you’re playing well you have to make it big.”

Analysing his double century, Jaiswal said he just tried to play session by session and also had to overcome a back problem en route the knock. “It was pretty difficult for me, because initially, I wasn’t getting runs. So had to play the session, and get set. That’s when I felt I could score runs. After a while my back was not good. I didn’t want to go out (of the field) but since it was too much, I went out. Today when I came, I wanted to make sure that I take the game forward and bat till the end,” he said.

The left-hander said as an opener his job is to give the team a good start. “I felt there was something in the wicket and the ball was hard. For me, it is important for me to give teams a good start so it was important for me to play long,” Jaiswal said. “I tell myself whenever I get set, I need to score well because you can get out anytime. My seniors have said to make it count.”

He was also motivated by the knocks of skipper Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja in the first innings. “The way Rohit (Sharma) bhai and (Ravindra Jadeja) Jaddu bhai played, that motivated me a lot. Their passion determined me to play session by session. I thought inside the dugout that when I go out there I should also make it count,” Jaiswal said.

The fourth Test of the series will be played at Ranchi from February 23.