2nd Test: Jaiswal eyes double hundred on Day 2; says Dravid, Rohit gave him confidence to go for a big score

Visakhapatnam, Feb 2: India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal credited the “session by session” approach that helped him score his highest score of 179 runs during the second Test match against England, at the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here on Friday.

Jaiswal scored 179 off 257 deliveries propelling India to 336 for 6 at the end of Day 1 of the second Test. Jaiswal batted through the 93 overs, showing a precocious variety of Test-match gears to finish unbeaten, scoring his second Test hundred and his second big hundred too -- his previous best was a lovely, unhurried 171 on debut in Dominica against West Indies.

Jaiswal's 179 is the joint-second highest score by an Indian batter in a single day's play against England in a Test match after Karun Nair's 232 in a day's play in Chennai in 2016. Gavaskar had also scored 179 in a day's play against England in London in 1979.

“I wanted to play it session by session. When they were bowling well, I just wanted to get through that spell. Initially, the wicket was damp and there was spin and bounce, with a bit of seam. However, I wanted to convert the loose balls, and play till the end,” said Jaiswal to the broadcaster.

Jaiswal gave credit to team head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma, who helped him gain confidence on the ever-changing pitch. Jaiswal now eyes the psychological mark of 200 which he missed on the tour of West Indies.

“Rahul sir and Rohit bhai kept giving me the confidence and told me to convert this into a big innings and stay till the end. I would love to double this up and play till the end for the team. I want to recover well for tomorrow now. The pitch played a bit differently, in the morning it was a bit damp and then it settled. With the older ball, there was some bounce,” he added.

India at the end of the day have put up a score of 336 for 6, thanks to Jaiswal’s brilliant effort, who batted through the day showing good balance between defence and attack,