'Would like to thank Hardik bhai for showing faith in me': Yashasvi Jaiswal after match-winning knock

Playing in only his second T20I, Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed an unbeaten 84 in the fourth T20I against West Indies on Saturday to help India take the series to the final game. 1-2 down in the series, India were given a target of 179 at Lauderhill and the openers gave India a dream start. Jaiswal and Shubman Gill (77) scored 165 together – joint-highest opening stand for India in T20Is – as Men in Blue won the match by nine wickets and three overs to go. Jaiswal smashed 11 fours and three sixes in his knock that came in 51 balls. The Player of the Match later thanked skipper Hardik Pandya and the support staff for showing faith in him. He also added that his intent was to score quick runs in the powerplay. “It is not easy, I am happy to go out there and express myself. I would like to thank the support staff and Hardik bhai, they have shown faith. That shows so much impact on my mind. I try to play how the team needs and how I can express myself towards the plan. I try to score quickly, how many shots I can play in the powerplay and put my team in a nice shape. Reading the wicket, reading the situation, how I can take the game deep everything is important. My intent is always to score runs,” Jaiswal said in the post-match presentation.

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his maiden T20I half-century & bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia sealed a clinical win over West Indies in the 4th T20I. 🙌 🙌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/kOE4w9Utvs #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/xscQMjaLMb

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 12, 2023

Yashashvi revealed that playing against Jason Holder and Obed McCoy in IPL earlier helped his cause at Lauderhill and also praised his batting partner Shubman Gill “I have played a lot of balls against them (Jason Holder and Obed McCoy in the IPL), helped me to read them. It (partnership with Shubman Gill) was really amazing the way we were talking and the way we were taking singles and understanding each other. He batted really well. The way he was rotating the strike, it is really important to build the partnership. I want to thank everyone for coming here and supporting us in this heat. Thank you so much,” he added. India captain Hardik Pandya also hailed the openers after his team secured a victory in the must-win match. “There are more Indians here. The way they have been supporting, they have been coming in numbers, they make sure that we give them some entertainment. There is no doubt in their (Gill and Jaiswal) skill set. Going forward, we will have to take responsibility as a batting group and help out our bowlers. Bowlers win matches. If they can get you a couple of wickets, you can control the game. Shubman and Yashasvi were brilliant. The way they ran in this heat … and … making sure they finished the job, it was very pleasing to see,” said Hardik in the post-match presentation. Pandya added that the team will now go for the kill in the fifth T20I to clinch the series. “I like to captain how I see the game. I like to go with my instincts. We lost two games but the first game, it was our own error, we were cruising quite well, we messed it up in the last four overs and did not cross the line. We did not do much different in the next two games. All these games give us a lot of confidence. We had to pull up our socks and play good cricket, that’s exactly what the boys did. In T20 cricket, no one’s favourite. You have to turn up and play good cricket. You got to respect the opposition. They were 2-0 up because they played better cricket than us. Tomorrow we turn up and do exactly what we did today and hope for the best,” he added. West Indies captain Rovman Powell admitted that his team was short by a few runs after opting to bat first on a high-scoring Lauderhill pitch. “It is a pretty good batting surface. We were maybe 10-15 runs short. Having said that, Hetmyer (Shimron Hetmyer) and Hope (Shai Hope) played well. There is quality bowling in our unit. We did not stick to our plans, you will always find yourself under pressure against quality batters,” Powell said. “From the start of the series, we always knew it is gonna come down to how we bat against spin. We did not bat well in the middle overs. If we can improve against spin, then we will do well. It is 2-2, both teams have played well to reach where they are. Tomorrow is the final and in a final, I would back West Indies. I am feeling okay and ready to lead the guys again tomorrow,” he added.