Captain Rohit Sharma was effusive in his praise for young Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit a hundred in his debut Test after India hammered the West Indies by an innings and 141 runs in the series opener in Dominica on Friday.

After a fifer in the first innings, senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took a seven-for in the second as the Windies were bundled out for 130 in the final session of Day 3 after India had declared at 421/5.

Jaiswal was adjudged Man of the Match for his 171. What pleased Rohit most about the 21-year-old left-hander is his temperament in India’s first Test in the new World Test Championship cyle.

“He (Yashasvi) has the talent. He has shown us in the past that he’s ready. He just came and batted sensibly.

“His temperament and mindset was also tested, as at no stage was he panicking. The chats we had were to remind him that ‘You belong here. You have done the hard yards, now enjoy your time here’,” the skipper said at the post-match presentation.

The adjustments Jaiswal made on the spin-friendly, sluggish wicket also drew praise from the Indian team management. “Especially for a debutant to come and score a century and that too, on not an easy wicket is really fabulous,” bowling coach Paras Mhambrey pointed out at the post-match news conference.

“It was a slow wicket, which got slower as the game progressed. Stroke-making wasn’t easy. If you look at the way he bats, he likes to take on the game, but the way he applied himself on this wicket was very good to see.

“That’s what you need at the international level. This performance will give him lot of confidence going ahead,” Mhambrey emphasised.

For the youngster though, it’s “just the start” as he’s well aware of the long road lying ahead of him.

“It felt very nice getting the Player-of-the-Match award on debut. It’s been a long journey and I’m really feeling very happy and good about it,” Jaiswal said.

“Playing Test cricket for India is very special and emotional. But this is just the start. I need to stay focused and keep working on my cricket.”

Alongside Jaiswal, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja too played significant roles in India’s victory. While Ashwin finished with a match-haul of 12 wickets, Jadeja took five.

“The results speak for themselves. They (Ashwin and Jadeja) have been doing it for a while.

“There isn’t much to tell them. It’s about giving them the freedom to express themselves. The experience these guys have on pitches like these is always a luxury,” Rohit said.

“So yeah, both Ash and Jadeja were superb. Especially Ash, for coming out and bowling this way was class.”