The first Test between India and West Indies turned out to be really memorable for young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal as he not only made his international debut but also struck his maiden century. His 171-run knock helped Team India to pull off a comfortable victory against the hosts by an innings and 141 runs. Jaiswal, who also bagged the Player of the Match award for his brilliant performance, came from a very humble background and fought through many hardships to reach where he is today.
It was a very proud and emotional moment for the entire Jaiswal family to see their young son becoming the 17th Indian batter to score a ton on his debut. In a recent interview, the Rajasthan Royals batter's father Bhupendra revealed that Jaiswal had called him up at 4:30 in the morning after smashing the century, which had left the father-son duo in tears.
"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?'," Jaiswal's father told Hindustan Times.
From selling street food in Mumbai to winning the player-of-the-match award in his test debut in Roseau, Jaiswal is international cricket's latest rags-to-riches story.
"I used to think about playing for my country when I was young. Emotional moment for me but this is just the start," Jaiswal said after collecting his player-of-the-match award.
"A lot of people have helped me in this journey. I want to thank each and everyone...I want to thank the selectors and captain for showing faith and allowing me to express," he added.
Talking about the match, Ravichandran Ashwin was too good for an ill-equipped West Indies batting line-up as his second five-wicket haul of the game set up India's innings and 141-run victory on Friday.
After India declared their first innings at 421 for five midway into the afternoon session, an improved batting show was expected from the Caribbean batters but they were simply not up to the task and collapsed to 130 all out in 50 overs to ensure a three-day finish.
(With PTI Inputs)