Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal plays a shot during the fifth Test against England in Dharamsala. Jaiswal won the player-of-the-series award by scoring 702 runs with two hundreds and three fifties averaging 89.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Player-of-the-Series award winner Yashasvi Jaiswal on March 9 attributed his overwhelming success in the five-Test rubber against England to his uninhibited approach while opening the innings.
Jaiswal ended the series with 712 runs with two hundreds and three fifties, averaging 89 and striking at 80.
“I was just thinking if I can take a bowler down, I will take him down. That’s the plan and there was no backing out,” said Jaiswal during the post-series presentation.
However, the left-hander, who became only the second Indian to score over 700 runs in a series after Sunil Gavaskar, said he wanted to keep his feet planted on the ground.
“I really enjoyed the series. I am trying to take it one game at a time and always thinking of how I can contribute to my team so that I can keep the team in a winning position,” he added.
Skipper Rohit Sharma too reminded Jaiswal of the need to remain humble and focussed.
“He’s got a long way to go, but it’s amazing to be in this position. When a guy’s got talent like that who can put pressure on the bowlers from the word go, there will be lots of challenges going forward. He is a tough guy and loves the challenges,” said Rohit.
Was trying to keep ball on good length: Kuldeep
Kuldeep Yadav was adjudged player of the match for his seven-wicket haul and a feisty 30 down the order that helped India stretch the lead.
The left-arm wrist spinner said he was just trying to keep the ball on a good length throughout his spells.
Kuldeep Yadav poses for photos after receiving the ‘Player of the Match’ during the award ceremony after India won the fifth Test cricket match against England, in Dharamsala on March 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
“I just focus on keeping it on a good length and that is very important for a spinner in this format. I was not thinking too much about what the batter was trying to do,” he said.
Kuldeep picked the wickets of Ben Stokes at Ranchi and Zak Crawley here as his favourite dismissals from the series.
“I really bowled well in Ranchi. The wicket was slow and the way I used the drift over there was fantastic. I liked the Stokes wicket in Ranchi.
“I also liked the Crawley wicket here (Dharamsala), that was a beautiful ball. I really liked my rhythm,” he said.
Kuldeep bowled England captain Stokes with a delivery that spun in from off-stump while right-hander Crawley got castled by his stock ball that turned in sharply from the fifth-stump line to disturb his stumps.
Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Kuldeep’s work ethics.
“He’s got a lot of potential and when the chips were down in the first innings (here), he bowled really well. He came back and worked at NCA after his injury. He is putting in a lot of effort and the most pleasing thing was his (improved) batting,” said Rohit.