Yashasvi Jaiswal's coach celebrates record century at London airport, father at loss of words

Yashasvi Jaiswal's century on debut in the India vs West Indies 1st Test leapt over borders and cut through timezones.

Roseau in the Caribbean islands of Dominica. London in England. Bhadohi, a small town in India's Uttar Pradesh. Three entirely different landscapes. Three timezones that can be nightmarish for even an ardent traveller. But on Thursday, they had a common thread. That of a 21-year-old Indian cricketer, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

India's Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates after he scored a century against West Indies on day two of their first cricket Test match at Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica (AP)

When Yashasvi half-swept, half-flicked or half-swatted - call it whatever you want to, it was a bit of everything - West Indies off-spinner Alick Athanaze and dashed towards the non-striker's end to complete the most crucial run of his career so far, it was around 11:30 pm in India. Way past the usual bedtime for Yashasvi's father Bhupendra, who runs a small paint shop in Bhadohi. But watching his son become the first Indian opener to score a Test century away from home on debut was not an everyday event. He kept track of his younger son's moves on a slow and sluggish pitch at Windsor Park.

"Neeli jersey pehen ne ka intezar thha bas (We all waited for him to wear the blue Indian jersey)," said Bhupendra. It wasn't in blues but in whites, perhaps the hardest colour in international cricket to earn, that Yashasvi showed his mettle on the first attempt.

There was an unusual sense of calm in the Jaiswal house ever since India captain Rohit Sharma confirmed Yashasvi's debut three days ago. The situation did not change much when the left-hander etched his name into the history books of Indian cricket. "He has struggled a lot," Bhupendra could not utter more but in his mind, the sound of dreams colliding with reality transcended the silence of the night. All his sacrifice, the nights Yashasvi spent in makeshift tents in Mumbai, and the hard yards he put in while coming up through the ranks in junior cricket, India U19, India A and then finally getting the Test cap, seemed worth it.

Standing ovation at Windsor Park

The scenes in Roseau were vastly different at the same time, to say the least. After a long grind of 215 balls, when he finally got to his century, Yashasvi leapt in the air, took his helmet off, kissed the badge on it and bowed to the Indian dressing room. Head coach Rahul Dravid, talisman Virat Kohli and every other member of the touring Indian side were standing and applauding.

Yashasvi didn't allow himself much time to soak in all that. He quickly turned and ran towards Rohit Sharma. A warm hug from the captain, who is among the 16 other Indians to know this feeling of a debut Test century, might have been on his checklist. He could be excused for behaving his age for once. For he had shown maturity, patience and resilience way beyond that of a 21-year-old for close to three sessions.

Childhood coach celebrates century at London airport

Away from all this, there was another explosion of emotions happening in London, where it was around 7 in the evening. Jwala Singh, Yashasvi's childhood coach and local guardian in Mumbai, was at Heathrow Airport waiting for his return flight to India. Jostling between online streaming and live scorecards, Singh, somehow managed to catch a glimpse of his ward's exploits.

"I knew that he will start well. He has spent four good seasons in IPL and also in domestic cricket... He has played Most of the world-class bowlers under a lot of pressure, especially in the IPL. So he knows how to tackle top-quality bowlers. There will always be nine fielders whatever match you play whether it's a T20 or an ODI or Test," Singh told Hindustan Times from London.

Yashasvi's knock, however, was vastly different from the ones he played in the IPL. For a man who has a 13-ball fifty in the IPL, he took 17 deliveries to get off the mark in the first Test.

In his only message to the youngsters in the Test side travelling to the Caribbean islands for the first time, Ajinkya Rahane, India's vice-captain for this series, said, "You have to be very patient in these conditions. Runs are not easy."

Yashasvi followed it like an obedient student. With Rahkeem Cornwall, Jomel Warrican and part-timers Kraigg Brathwaite and Alick Athanaze, sure West Indies did not have the quality to make the most of the conditions on offer but for a debutant, the way Yashasvi curbed his natural instincts, dealt in ones and twos - he took 63 singles, 12 doubles and hit only 14 fours in his 350-ball stay till the end of Day 2 - spoke volumes about his mental strength.

Record partnership with Rohit Sharma

Yashasvi was unbeaten on 143 at the end of the second day's play. He had batted nearly four sessions to put India on course of a probable innings victory. Apart from smashing records of his own, Yashasvi also put on a 229-run opening stand with captain Rohit, which is the highest by an Indian opening pair against the West Indies.