Leeds, Jun 20 (PTI) Yashasvi Jaiswal was overjoyed after making his maiden hundred in England, and the Indian opener gave a slice of credit to skipper Shubman Gill for maintaining a calm atmosphere at the other end during their partnership.

Jaiswal and Gill, who also made an unbeaten century, added 129 runs for the third wicket stand to take India to 221 from a shaky 92 for two after the first session.

India navigated through the second session without losing a wicket.

“Whenever I make a century, wherever it is, I enjoy it. I love it as all my centuries are special. But of course, there are some special moments…first (century in England),” Jaiswal said in the post-day press meet.

The left-hander also threw light into how he and Gill took their alliance forward.

“We were speaking a lot in the middle and we were trying to take it session by session and try and get as many runs as possible.

“There was an amazing camaraderie between us. It was amazing to bat with him (Gill) and the way he batted, calm and composed, I enjoyed it a lot and it was helping me,” he added.

The ton on Friday was his third three-figure mark in overseas tours after fetching centuries in the West Indies and Australia. So what was his personal strategy during his hundred? “The strategy was to put away the bad balls, time and place the shots well. I was just thinking about handling the situation, where the England team was keeping fielders or in which areas they were bowling.

“I was just trying to bat accordingly. I was batting as per the needs of the team,” he said.

Jaiswal, similar to many of his teammates, came into the Leeds Test without too much practice in red-ball cricket, courtesy the two-month IPL season.

But the 23-year-old said switching the formats mentally was important for him.

“Challenges will always be there in cricket, just that it will be different in different stages. I was trying to trust my process and mindset and was trying to express myself.

“To switch mentally is very important as in how you think or in which environment you are in. It helps you to enjoy the game when you are playing under pressure,” he noted.

However, Jaiswal admitted that the practice games for India A against the England Lions and the intra-squad match against the senior side was helpful in understanding the local conditions.

“I was getting cramps on both hands. Our preparations were good while playing for India A and at Beckenham (intra-squad). We were discussing about playing a long innings after getting a start.

“We got a lot of inputs from Gautam sir. So, it was nice to come to such a nice ground and perform,” he added. PTI

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