'Would love to double this up’: Yashasvi Jaiswal sets sights on bigger milestone after 179 not out on Day 1 in Vizag

After slamming his maiden international hundred at home to help India begin on a strong note in the second Test against England, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has his sights set on converting it into a double-hundred on Saturday.

Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 179 as India ended Day 1 of the second Test at 336/6 after electing to bat at Visakhapatnam’s ACA-VCDA Stadium. The southpaw, who had struck a quickfire 80 in the first Test in Hyderabad, ended up scoring more than half of his team’s runs on what is a good batting surface in Vizag.

Read | Ex-England international calls Yashasvi Jaiswal ‘most dangerous Indian batter’

“I wanted to play it session by session. When they were bowling well, I just wanted to get through that spell. Initially, the wicket was damp and there was spin and bounce, with a bit of seam. However, I wanted to convert the loose balls, and play till the end.

“I would love to double this up, and play till the end for the team. I want to recover well for tomorrow now. The pitch played a bit differently, in the morning it was a bit damp and then it settled. With the older ball, there was some bounce,” Jaiswal told broadcasters Sports18 after stumps on Friday.

The opening batter from Mumbai also credited captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid for instilling confidence in him.

“Rahul sir and Rohit bhai kept giving me the confidence and told me to convert this into a big innings, and stay till the end,” Jaiswal added.

As It Happened | India vs England, 2nd Test in Visakhapatnam, Day 1

Despite the conducive conditions in Visakhapatnam, none of the other Indian batters were able to cross 50 despite positive starts. No 3 batter Shubman Gill (34) and debutant Rajat Patidar (32) were the next-highest scorers for the hosts, collecting a couple of 30s and forging important partnerships with Jaiswal along the way.

For England, leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/61 from 16 overs. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir (2/100), who made his international debut on Friday after missing out on the Hyderabad Test due to visa issues, also collected two wickets including that of skipper Rohit.

Veteran pacer James Anderson, playing his 184th Test, was by far the most economical with figures of 1/30 from 17 overs.