Newly minted Australia opener Matt Renshaw has taken great satisfaction from his grinding second-innings knock in the Adelaide Test, which lasted 137 balls and yielded 34 runs.

Renshaw was down the other end as fellow debutant Peter Handscomb hit the winning runs in Australia's seven-wicket victory, and he said it was worth playing within himself in order to preserve his wicket to the end.

"I was just trying to have fun, once the crowd got going when we needed 10 to win, that was the hard part," he told Grandstand.

"I was just trying to keep myself grounded and not play something stupid."

Loading...

The big left-hander has been compared to Matthew Hayden for his batting style, but his temperament is more akin to that of an 'old school' opener, who makes the bowlers work hard for his wicket.

"It's pretty hard when the crowd gets up and the adrenaline gets up, and you just want to play the big shot. But you don't want to get out," Renshaw said.

"I was just coming in and playing what works for me in Shield cricket, and that's just trying to bat as long as possible and make the bowler make a mistake first.

"I've generally just tried to bat as long as possible my whole cricket career. Batting long is quite fun for me."

Renshaw is far from assured of a spot in the team going forward, but after scoring 10 in the first innings, his determined and unbeaten knock on day four will go a long way to impressing selectors.

Loading...

He admitted the step up to Test cricket was not an easy one to make, but said the experience he earned in Adelaide was priceless.

"It's been amazing. I'm just trying to embrace it all, and have a lot of fun," Renshaw said.

"It's a fair bit [of a challenge], but it's just another challenge and we've got to try to embrace that. The more you embrace it, I think the better you come off.

"I've been standing at first slip next to Steve Smith, and watching how his brain ticks. Even that is a great thing from the week.

"You've got to take everything that comes in your stride when you're playing at this level and enjoy it."