“The way Rohit, Jaddu played motivated me a lot”: Yashasvi Jaiswal

New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI): India star opener Yashasvi Jaiswal revealed that the way veteran players Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja played in the first innings against England motivated him to do better.

In the third Test between two cricketing giants in Rajkot saw Jaiswal removed for a score of 10 by Mark Wood. From that point, skipper Rohit and experienced all-rounder Jadeja drove India’s innings to a herculean total of 445.

Rohit struck 131 while Jadeja scored his fourth Test ton to propel India to a dominant position. Jaiswal who witnessed the spectacle from the dressing room was motivated to go big in the second innings.

“The way Rohit bhai and Jaddu bhai played in the first innings, motivated me a lot. Because the passion was there, the talk was there, they were determined to play session by session and when I was inside [the dressing room] I kept thinking that when I go there I have to make it count,” Jaiswal said as quoted from ICC.

“The way they were talking about the game, the way they motivated us, I think it’s incredible to see them putting a lot of effort,” Jaiswal added.

Jaiswal played an unbeaten knock of 214* runs which was laced by 14 fours and 12 sixes. He built an unbeaten partnership of 172 runs along with Sarfaraz Khan, who played an unbeaten knock of 68* runs with the help of six boundaries and three sixes.

The 22-year-old reflected on his journey, the importance of working hard and said, “In India, when you grow up, you work really hard for each and everything. Even when getting the bus you have to work really hard to get on the bus. You have to work really hard to get to the train and auto and everything and I have done that since my childhood and I know how important every innings is and that’s why I work hard in my [practice] sessions and every innings counts for me and my team.”

“That is my biggest motivation to play for my country and I just make sure that whenever I’m there I need to give my 100 per cent and then enjoy. As a cricketer, I always go with the emotion. Sometimes I do well and sometimes I don’t. The way they come and the way they talk about cricket and all other things, I think it’s been incredible and I’m really enjoying it,” he added.

India have now a 2-1 lead in the five-match series following their record-breaking 434-run victory in Rajkot. Both teams will now square off in the fourth Test on February 23 at the JSCA International Stadium Complex n Ranchi.