Yashasvi Jaiswal will leave a significant footprint in Test cricket: Tom Moody

Legendary Australia batter Tom Moody lavished praise on India's young batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal who made his Test debut during the first game against West Indies at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium in Dominica on July 12. Apart from the 21-year-old young wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan also made his debut in the longest format of the game.  

Jaiswal, who earned his Test call-up after a successful Indian Premier League (IPL) and domestic cricket season, grabbed the spotlight during the match. The youngster was the best batter for the Rajasthan Royals in the 2023 IPL, with 625 runs from 14 matches at an average of 48.08 and a strike rate of 163.61. Meanwhile, he HAS scored 1845 runs in 15 first-class matches, averaging at 80.21 with a strike rate of 67.48, with nine hundreds and two half-centuries.

Moody, a two-time Cricket World Cup winner, took to Twitter and heaped praise on Jaiswal, saying the 21-year-old will leave a 'significant footprint' in the longest format of the game. "If the story of Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t been compelling enough, his test journey has launched. There's no doubt he'll leave a significant footprint in this format. #WIvIND#YashasviJaiswal," Moody's tweet read.

See Tom Moody's Twitter post:

If the story of Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t been compelling enough, his test journey has launched. There's no doubt he'll leave a significant footprint in this format. #WIvIND #YashasviJaiswal

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) July 13, 2023

Ashwin, Jaiswal shines on Day 1 in Dominica

After winning the toss and Batting first, Kraigg Brathwaite and Co. got off to a decent start in the first Test of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. After the 10 overs, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin struck twice, removing openers Brathwaite (20) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (12). After Shardul Thakur cheaply dismissed Raymon Reifer, star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja took his first wicket as he sent back Jermaine Blackwood. 

As the game progressed, Ashwin (5/60) added three more wickets to his tally, picking his 33rd fifer in Tests. However, Jadeja later (3/26) struck twice and Mohammed Siraj picked up one wicket as India restricted the hosts to a below-par score of 150 in the first innings. Apart from Alick Athanaze (47), none of the Windies batters were able to put up a good fight. 

The new opening duo of Rohit Sharma (30*) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (40*) remained unbeaten as India finished the opening day of the first Test on a high note. At Day 1 stumps, India were 80 runs without losing a wicket, trailing the hosts by 70 runs.