Debutant Mayank Agarwal put up a brilliant show in the third Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
He scored a solid 76 in the first innings and backed it up with a brave 42 in the second. It was his second innings that was more important in the context of the match because it helped India reach 106/8 before captain Virat Kohli decided to declare. Agarwal showed grit in holding the innings while wickets were falling at the other end at regular intervals.
Agarwal scored a total of 118 runs in the match, which is the second-highest score by an Indian opener in his debut in overseas conditions. The young opener is only second to the legendary Sunil Gavaskar in that list.
Earlier, Agarwal revealed that he found it difficult to control his emotions after scoring a fifty.
“It wasn’t easy to get hold of those emotions and focus there, but it needed to be done. I just stuck to my plans and just kept telling myself, “there is a plan that I have to go through and I am just going to stick to that”. Even though it was overwhelming, it was good and I am happy with the way I started,” he said.
“It’s a big stage, and a big opportunity, and I had the seniors walk up to me, telling that bigger the day, bigger the opportunity to leave a mark,” he added.