Mayank Agarwal says his plan batting alongside opening partner KL Rahul on Day 1 of the Centurion Test against South Africa was traditional and simple: to be very disciplined and leave as many balls outside off-stump as they could with the new ball.
The two Indian openers batted with great restraint and patience in the early part of the Boxing Day Test after the tourists won the toss and opted to bat first.
Agarwal and Rahul added 117 runs for the first wicket and, most importantly, played out over 40 overs in the process, making the ball old so as to ease things up for the rest of the batting order.
Agarwal scored a fine half-century (60) before he was out LBW off one that kept a touch low. But Rahul went on to score his seventh Test match hundred for the country (122*) and remained unbeaten till stumps, with India reaching 272/3 on a surface expected to quicken up but also behave more unevenly as the days wear on.
“The plan was to be very disciplined, to play balls which come around the stump and leave as many as possible.
We could do just that. At 272 for 3, it is credit to our batting unit, we applied ourselves.
The plan is those who get set will have to continue and Rahul bhai did that,”
Agarwal was quoted as saying by PTI from the post-day press conference in South Africa.
“The highlight as a team was Rahul getting a hundred. We had partnerships and that was crucial. He had a partnership first up with me, and Virat bhai had it also and then with Rahane,”
he added.
Agarwal would have been disappointed not to carry on and make a big hundred himself as the inexperienced South African attack began to tire out and offered some hit-me balls. But he’ll still be pleased to have begun the series with a fifty having only recently made a strong comeback
The right-hander is under pressure to retain his spot at the top, with both Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill currently injured but set to comeback later in the season. India also have proven domestic performer Priyank Panchal vying for his maiden outing.
