Jaiswal explains the motivation behind his high scores

"I know how important every inning is and that's why I work hard in practice and every inning counts for me"

Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored three centuries in seven Test matches. His lowest score after reaching a century is 171. He attributes his hunger for success to the challenges he faced while growing up with the ambition of becoming an international cricketer.

Jaiswal relocated from Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai at the age of 13 with a clear vision of his current pursuits. During his early days, he occasionally spent nights at the groundsman's tents in the maidans, which instilled in him the importance of seizing every opportunity.

Jaiswal failed to make an impact in the first innings, and this seemed to affect his approach in the second. After being dismissed for 10 runs in the fourth over on a good batting pitch, he watched as Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja slowly ground England down.

Jaiswal was motivated by the way Rohit and Jadeja played in the first innings. The team's passion and determination were evident in their discussions about playing session by session. He felt the weight of responsibility to make his contribution count. Their motivation was inspiring.

Jaiswal applied what he had learned in the second innings, handling the pressure of a new-ball attack led by James Anderson. As India had lost Rohit early this time, Jaiswal played the role of a shepherd, focusing on staying on the pitch and preventing the opposition from gaining momentum.

Jaiswal quickly adapted to the conditions and bowling. He scored 65 runs in the next 49 balls, scoring back-to-back centuries and then a double-century, but then faced further challenges.

Jaiswal said: 

"I have my plans where I could play all my shots and I tried to play only those shots and get that runs. After some time, my back was not really good. I didn't want to [retire] out but it was too much. The next day I didn't know how it was going to start, lots of thoughts in my mind. But again when I came, I tried to give myself time and after that I felt really really good."

The challenges of maintaining a balance between success and failure were highlighted by Jaiswal. He acknowledged the support of India's head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour in coping with these challenges.