Jaiswal takes guard for SA challenge

"You belong here. You have done the hard yards, enjoy your time here." This was Rohit Sharma's comforting message to Yashasvi Jaiswal when the latter walked out for his maiden Test innings on the tour of the Caribbean in July

- Vivek Krishnan

By the time Jaiswal's first knock for India came to an end after more than eight hours at the crease, he had certainly shown he belongs. On a sluggish track at Windsor Park in Dominica where West Indies were skittled for 150 in the first innings, the 21-year-old outscored the opposition by racking up 171 runs himself.

Jaiswal had gone into the Test series on the back of a two-month T20 diet in the Indian Premier League, but when the time came to dig in and grind, he was ready to consume 387 deliveries on way to making the highest score by an Indian debutant in an overseas Test.

If this was Jaiswal exhibiting all the characteristics of a quintessential Test batter, he has spent most of the other months this year bashing the ball to all parts. While a double hundred in the Vijay Hazare Trophy - the domestic 50-over competition in 2019 was an early pointer to his ball-striking ability, he hadn't amassed the volume of runs at the desired strike rate in his first three IPL seasons to be viewed as a serious T20 prospect. That changed this season when he smashed 625 runs in 14 games at an average of 48.08 and a strike rate of 163.61 for Rajasthan Royals.

Opening with Buttler