LONDON: Despite a century in the opening Test at Leeds, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn't convert the starts he got in the following matches. He got two half-centuries but that one big knock, which he loves to play, was eluding him. The final Test at the Oval finally ended that drought as the Mumbai batter slammed a century, albeit with three reprieves he got from the England fielder, putting his team in command in the series decider.
"I think it's very important for all of us to keep pushing ourselves. This was our last innings here. Mentally, I was ready to keep pushing myself and try to get as much as I can," Yashasvi told journalists in the press conference on Saturday when asked about on his innings and how he prepared for it, especially after a few middling scores,
He threw light on how he went about it keeping the surface, which has a lot of assistance for the pacers, in mind. " Of course, seeing the wicket in the first innings, I was thinking what can be the best option to score runs. I was just trying to play like that and be positive. My intent was very good. I wanted to put pressure on the bowlers, where they are going to bowl and where I can score runs. My mentality is always like that. I think being positive and going for my shots depends on the situation. If the situation demands something else, I will enjoy that as well."
The century was his sixth in Test cricket and he said he enjoyed it a lot. Former India captain Rohit Sharma also witnessed Jaiswal's ton from the stands. The southpaw said Rohit messaged him to keep playing. "I saw Rohit bhai and I said hi to him. He gave me the message to keep playing."
He admitted the surface played better after India opted for a heavy roller in the morning. Jaiswal, however, said the pitch still has enough for the pacers and if India bowlers bowl right line and length then they can extract movement off the wicket. "I think there is enough bounce. If we keep bowling in the channel, it will be amazing. There is always movement on the wicket. It's not that easy to bat."
Jaiswal said he works hard during practice sessions to make sure he gives his best whenever he goes out in the middle. "We all try to give our best. We improve as a person every single day. I think cricket is a game of consistency. We try to make sure that we work hard in the practice session. Whenever we go out there, the game becomes easy. We were practising very hard and we were enjoying the game very well. We know what shot we can play. I think it's just keep doing the same thing again and again consistently. That's very important."
But he is not content with his latest show. "I think I wanted to do more. I wanted to make my innings bigger than that so I could have achieved something else. But it's okay. I was trying very hard for that and I was enjoying it. Whenever I go out there, I think as long as I can bat, I enjoy it."
Speaking on his century partnership with nightwatchman Akash Deep, he said, "Akash batted really well. He did what he could and he was playing shots as well and defending very well. We were just talking about what we can do best in that situation. We wanted him to play as long as he can play. That will benefit us as well. I was just thinking about how we can build this partnership as long as we can. We were enjoying that and we were having good fun."
The batter said he learnt a lot during the ongoing tour. "I think it's all about how I fight. The mentality is always to go out there and fight it out and enjoy. Because in the end, as I tell myself that it's the game and we need to enjoy the game. That is very important. With that, we should have fun. I think there's a lot of learning. I can't tell everything but there is mentally, physically, emotionally, everything. I'm proud of myself and all my teammates. The way they have put in the work in the last two months and enjoy the England series. It was tremendous."
The India opener said his team is well placed to win the game and they will be a confident lot going into Day 4. "Of course, I think we are quite confident. We just need to focus on our process and keep bowling in the right areas. That's what we are thinking and we will try our best. Of course, we all are enjoying here. We want this. We want fun. We want some battle in the middle. That is the fun. That's why you play Test cricket."
Jaiswal said he is learning a lot from head coach Gautam Gambhir and the former India captain's presence in the dressing room has been helping him a lot. "There are plenty of things that we have spoken about. We worked in the nets as well. I think it's all about the tactics. How I can use them in the middle and enjoy the game and put pressure on the bowlers as well. It's all about the situation in which I am in. That's how we talk. It's very relaxing and very helping. Sir is amazing and I am really enjoying it."
He has been a part of quite a few five-Test series in his young career and Jaiswal said every place offers a different challenge and a player has to adapt accordingly. He also thanked Rohit and Virat Kohli for helping him become a better player. "I think the challenges are different in different places. If you are playing in India, the challenge will be different. You are going to play spinners a lot. There will be three spinners in the team. When you are playing in Australia, there will be four seamers. When you are playing in England, there will be 4 seamers. I think that's how you need to plan your game. I need to plan my game, my innings, where my shots are and where I am going to score runs. Of course, I keep getting all these messages and playing with the seniors as long as I have played with Rohit Bhai, Virat Bhai. Playing with them has helped me a lot to grow as a person and seeing what they have done in Test cricket. How they have prepared themselves. I think it really helped me especially to improve as a player. Especially playing with all my mates now, KL Bhai, the way we chat and what we think about the game, how we think about the game, Gil Bhai. It's very interesting and I am really enjoying it."
