The pace at which captain Virat Kohli scored his double hundred has given the Indian bowlers ample of time to get the wickets of the opponents, says opener, Mayank Agarwal. Kohli’s best-ever Test score of 254 and his 225-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja (91) within 39.1 overs helped India put up a mammoth total of 601 for five before declaring.

“Definitely, it has put us in driver’s seat and it’s not just the amount of runs but at what pace those runs have come has made the huge difference,” said Mayank Agarwal, who got his second successive Test hundred on the first day.

“The double hundred has given the team extra session and half, which becomes very crucial. The partnership between Virat and Jadeja was fabulous and almost at run a-ball 230-odd (225), which is fabulous. If you are looking to win games, then you want to have that time to get 20 wickets,” said Agarwal. “To get a 250, it’s no joke and way he is batting is tremendous. The positivity and intent is fabulous. The records and his scores, prove everything that we all need to see (learn).”

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India’s mammoth total certainly help the bowlers to bowl freely and they have already taken 3 wickets on the second day before stumping.

“Virat and Rahane during the last evening, around hour and half, when ball was doing a bit under lights, played really tight. They didn’t give opposition a wicket, in the first session and that put us in driver’s seat and we could do what we did in the second session,” he told.

“You need to put a mark (target) and make sure that at the end of the year, whatever time (frame) you have set, you tick those boxes,” he added. “Sometimes you put in effort and it’s not like you get instant result. You have to keep doing your things, keep ticking the boxes, keep improving, putting in performances year after year, the selection will eventually come.”