The Indian team had a fine start to the first Test match as openers Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal were able to stay unbeaten. The team’s captain Virat Kohli won the crucial toss and decided to bat first at Visakhapatnam. The South African opening pacers Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada were able to get the lateral seam movement.
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However, the new pair of Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal were able to keep the Proteas bowlers at bay. In fact, this was the first time when both of these players were opening the innings in home conditions. There was an occasional play and miss from the Indian batsmen but they were not troubled much by the South Africa pacers.
Solid start for India.
Vernon Philander was given a short spell by South Africa’s skipper Faf du Plessis. On the other hand, Kagiso Rabada had a long opening spell of six overs. Rabada bowled his heart out but he didn’t have any rub of the green.
Keshav Maharaj who is going to hold the key for the visitors was able to create a few close calls but he also could not cause any damage. Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal showed solid technique and both the batters played with guile. Both of them did the hard work and played out the first hour without taking any risk.
After getting their eyes in, both Mayank and Rohit were able to rotate the strike at regular intervals. Rohit also launched Keshav Maharaj for a huge six in the long-on region after shimming down the track. Mayank Agarwal also followed his partner’s footsteps as he too got a six against the spinner.
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The South African spinners Keshav Maharaj and Dane Piedt were short in their length and failed to hit the right areas consistently. Rohit Sharma was able to get to his fifty at the stroke of lunch with a streaky sweep shot. Mayank Agarwal remained unbeaten on 39 runs whereas Rohit Sharma is also undefeated on 52 at Lunch.
Brief Scores: India – 91-0, Rohit Sharma – 52*, Mayank Agarwal – 39*.