The newcomer Indian Test opener Mayank Agarwal feels disappointed after missing his maiden Test century during the day one of the Sydney Test. He also praised the centurion Cheteshwar Pujara for his successful tight batting.
Mayank impressed on his debutant Test match, the previous Test at Melbourne, after scoring 76 and 42 runs respectively. Coming to open in the Sydney Test with KL Rahul, Mayank played another brilliant knock of 77 runs off 112 balls (7 fours and 2 sixes) while Rahul (9) was dismissed cheaply in the second over of the match.
After the end of the day, Mayank told the reporters about his knock, “Runs for a batsman, gives a batsman lot of confidence and the more runs you get, the more games you play, the better understanding of your game and more confidence in your game. So, I think those runs have really helped me and had given me a lot of confidence.”
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Once Mayank was settled down on the pitch, he took the attacking approach against the Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon. In one moment, Mayank went to Lyon for a sixer but he was caught out at long on.
Talking about his dismissal, Mayank said, “I am disappointed for not getting a big score. Just really disappointed I threw my wicket. Having said that, it’s a learning curve and if I don’t repeat my mistakes, it will be a good learning. I was looking to dominate Lyon but it did not work out.”
The in-form Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara played another patience century knock as he remained unbeaten at the end of the day on 130 off 250 balls (16 fours).
Speaking on Pujara’s innings, Mayank said, “He (Pujara) has got a pattern to it, he understands the strengths and he sticks to that. He knows he’s very tight with his defence. He looks to do that and waits for the bad ball to come.”
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After the opener Rahul was dismissed at early of that innings, Mayank and Pujara had a steady 116-run partnership for the second wicket that provided a good start for the visitors. Talking about their partnership, Mayank opened up that how Pujara guided him at that time.
Mayank said, “As far as the partnership is concerned, he keeps talking. He keeps saying that these are things that we can look at. Obviously with his experience, he tells me that probably this is what they’re looking to do.”
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At the end of the opening day of the Sydney Test, India was batting on 303/4. Mayank feels that they are in a good position.
He said, “I think we are very happy. We would like to be probably just 3 down. But with that said, 303 for 4 on the first day, choosing to bat, I think we’re in a great position.”
