Mayank Agarwal starred with the bat for Team India on Day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
India won the toss and opted to bat first. Thanks to Agarwal’s unbeaten 120, the hosts finished the rain-curtailed opening day at 221/4 in 70 overs.
See Also: Cricket fraternity lauds Mayank Agarwal as his 120* helps India finish day 1 on 221/4
After the day’s play, Mayank credited the legendary Sunil Gavaskar and India coach Rahul Dravid for his return to form.
The right-handed opener revealed the tips he received from Gavaskar and opened up on the encouraging words from Dravid.
“He (Gavaskar) told me that I should consider keeping the bat a bit low initially in my innings. I have a tendency to hold it high. I couldn’t make that adjustment in this short period of time. When he was saying that, I noticed his shoulder position and basically picked up that I need to be more side-on," Agarwal said in the post-match virtual press conference on Friday (December 3).
“When I was picked, Rahul bhai spoke to me. He asked me to control what is in my hands, ‘Go out there and give it your best, when you get set make it big’. I’m happy to have capitalised on the start that I had. But that message was very clear from Rahul bhai, that I should make it count," he added.
Mayank added 80 runs for the opening wicket with Shubman Gill, who scored 44. But after Gill’s wicket, the home team was rocked by the dismissals of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli on ducks.
Amid the pressure situation, Agarwal held the one end firmly and batted through the day. He was particularly severe on New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, who claimed all the four Indian wickets on Day 1.
When asked about his decision to take on Ajaz Patel, Mayank said: “It was a conscious decision. He was bowling exceedingly well. But each time anything was in our half (our arc), the plan was to be a bit more attacking. Anything that came a little towards us in length, we were going to go for it. He had that phase when he tied us down, so it was a conscious decision to make it count when we could or each time he bowled it in our spot."
The Karnataka opener lad highlighted that the first session on Saturday will be crucial.
“It’s going to be very important, how we start is crucial, the focus is that. The first session we want to play it out, the wicket is going to get harder and harder to bat on," he said.
On completing his hundred with a four, Agarwal said, “It’s an amazing feeling to get a century in Test cricket and to get it in Wankhede is extra special."
(With IANS inputs)
