When debutant Keaton Jennings came in to bat, he showed no signs of the "cool head" that Alastair Cook was mentioning on the eve of the match. He looked restless but was in the same state of mind before he faced his first ball at Wankhede
Keaton Jennings. Pic/AFP
When debutant Keaton Jennings came in to bat, he showed no signs of the "cool head" that skipper Alastair Cook was mentioning on the eve of the match. He looked restless and kept on chasing everything that was away from him. He went for his strokes at a rapid regularity than an old-school opener would.
ADVERTISEMENT
In fact he manufactured a pull shot and missed in what was the third ball of his Test career. Karun Nair dropped him at gully when Jennings threw his bat at a wide one when he was yet to open his account. Jennings' nerves at the crease was just an extension of what he went through in the morning.
"I woke up at 5 am this morning thinking I will miss the bus. So, I jumped out of bed and panicked where everything is. I settled myself down and then I saw the time. If someone said to me that I will get a Test match hundred after that, I would have put them off. But it's been a dream come true and surreal that it has come on debut," Jennings said after the day's play.
Also Read: Mumbai Test: What a Keaton Jennings of an innings on debut!
"When I hit the ball straight to the gully fielder, my heart was in my mouth and I just thought I got a nought in my first innings. But thankfully, it went to the ground. I had a little bit of luck, but I suppose that's the way the game goes sometimes," the South African-born opener said.
A sweep to get to his 50 and then a reverse sweep to get to his 100 are no signs of a nervous mind. "At that moment I looked at the scoreboard and thought, well rather than get out caught at first slip defending, I would rather try to get to the hundred," said Jennings.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
