By the time Yashasvi was handed his Test cap, he was already being touted as star for the future, having scored truckloads of runs at every level of age-group and senior domestic cricket. His first-class average stood at 80.21 before he faced his first Test ball, while his List A average says 53.96. A breakthrough IPL 2023 (625 runs @ 48, SR 164), where he won the Emerging Player of the Season, only accentuated the sentiment that he was ready for the big stage.

Opening alongside Rohit Sharma against the West Indies in Dominica, Yashasvi looked as natural as ever, converting his debut fifty into a maiden hundred, his tenth in first-class cricket. Largely unbothered by the slow rate of scoring, Yashasvi held the crease, punctuating his unbeaten 143-run, 350-ball effort with 14 hits to the fence. Long sessions of defence were mixed with odd moments of attack, where Yashasvi unleashed his cuts, drives and reverse sweeps.

The century made him the 17th India player to hit a century on men’s Test debut, and the seventh to do away from home.

He is set to resume on Day 3, but Yashasvi’s 350 balls are already the most faced by an India player on Test debut. He’s currently on 143*, only behind Shikhar Dhawan (187) and Rohit Sharma (177) for the highest score by an India debutant.

Jaiswal is the third India opener to hit a debut Test ton, after Dhawan (against Australia, 2013) and Prithvi Shaw (against West Indies, 2018). In the process, Yashasvi also became the fourth-youngest Indian to score a century on Test debut (21 years, 196 days), after Prithvi Shaw (18), Abbas Ali Baig (20) and Gundappa Viswanath (20).

Also read: Tearful phone calls, plastic balls & range-hitting – the inside story of how Yashasvi Jaiswal conquered IPL on his way to an India spot

Armed with a stable technique readymade for red-ball cricket, and the ability to play long sessions without apparent discomfort, Yashasvi is expected to keep building on his early success.

If he gets to a double century, he will join New Zealand’s Matthew Sinclair as the only other batter to have hit a double ton on debut against the West Indies, and the only one to do so in the Caribbean. His temperament has been evident: Yashasvi is only the third opener in Test history to face 350+ balls on debut, after Devon Conway (548) and Andrew Hudson (384).

Alongside Yashasvi was his opening partner and skipper Rohit Sharma, who himself hit a century, helping India to a 229-run opening partnership. It is the highest opening stand everby an India pair against the West Indies, beating Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar’s 2002 effort (201 at Wankhede, Mumbai), while also being the first instance of the same away from home.

Only Sri Lanka’s Brendon Kuruppu and New Zealand’s Conway have hit double centuries as openers on Test debut – Friday will tell if Yashasvi adds himself to the list.