Mayank Agarwal not scoring a century as he was dismissed for 61 off 120 balls in the warm-up practice encounter against Australia A might be a blessing in disguise according to former opener Aakash Chopra.
He reasoned that the Karnataka opener would be hungrier to play an even bigger knock in the Test matches that follow. The reputed commentator made the above observation while talking about opener Mayank Agarwal’s gritty knock in the second innings in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
Mayank Agarwal Getting Back His Form Was Critical: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra started by highlighting that Mayank Agarwal regaining his form was crucial for the Indian team. Mayank Agarwal had scored 61 in 2nd innings after failure in the first innings where he managed 2 runs in 2nd practice game. He didn’t play first practice match and totalled 50 runs in 2 ODIs.
“Mayank getting back his form was absolutely critical because he had made his debut here only and we want that runs keep flowing from his bat. We need to appreciate him as it was necessary for him to make runs.”
The renowned commentator observed that Mayank Agarwal batted well in the second essay after getting dismissed to a rather poor shot in the first innings.
“He had got out in the first innings to a slightly bad shot. But he played well this time and struck a good half-century.”
Aakash Chopra added that Mayank Agarwal instils a sense of belief and exudes confidence in viewers, and lauded his growth as a batsman over the last year or so.
“He gives me a lot of confidence. Mayank Agarwal is one of the most improved players in the last 12 months for Team India.”
Mayank Agarwal Will Hopefully Display Desire To Play Big Knocks In 1st Test: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra stated that he is not at all unhappy with Mayank Agarwal failing to reach the three-figure mark. He reasoned that it would leave the in-form opener more eager to do well in the subsequent 4 match Test series.
“He got dismissed in the second session but honestly speaking when you have these side games and someone doesn’t score a hundred I say that it was perfectly good. You have scored 60-65 runs, you have got your form and confidence but the hunger is alive.”
The former KKR player added that former Australian batsman Ricky Ponting told him that a batsman not getting the big scores in a particular match makes him more careful and not overconfident in the next match.
“It is better if you score the big runs in the Test matches, this thing was told to me by Ricky Ponting as well. If you go into a match saying that you are doing everything fine but have not scored a century, then you play in a more guarded fashion, you are not overconfident.”
“From that perspective I am delighted that Mayank Agarwal has scored the runs but he has not scored a century. His intensity of scoring the hundreds and double-hundreds is expected to be seen in the match starting on the 17th.”
Mayank Agarwal has shown the ability and knack to play the desired long innings in his short Test career so far. The 29-year old has converted as many as two of his three hundreds in Test cricket into double centuries, including the highest score of 243 runs against Bangladesh. Against South Africa, he scored 215 and 108 in 2 tests. He averages 57.29 in 11 tests.