‘I was thinking of taking the bowlers down’

DHARAMSALA: The Player-of-the-Series award winner Yashasvi Jaiswal on Saturday 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.

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.

“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.