SA vs IND: Mayank Agarwal was dismissed after scoring a half-century.© AFP
India batter Mayank Agarwal on Sunday said that he had conversations with head coach Rahul Dravid on how to stick to one’s plans and be patient while playing on South African pitches. Virat Kohli’s side dominated Day 1 of the ongoing first Test against the Proteas at the SuperSport Park as the visitors’ score read 272/3 at stumps. KL Rahul (122*) and Ajinkya Rahane (40*) are unbeaten at the crease and India would be hoping for a strong show from the batters on Day 2.
“Well the conversations with Rahul Dravid were about being very disciplined, he was very clear and he said that when you are playing in South Africa and other countries, you will not look very good but it is about sticking to your plan and waiting for the opportunities to score. We were thinking around those lines and I am glad that we could do well in the first session,” said Mayank while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.
“To be honest the plan was to be very disciplined and try to play the balls that were close to the stumps. The plan was to leave as many balls as possible and I am glad that we could do just that. To be honest, being placed at 272/3 at the end is credit to the batting unit. We really applied ourselves really well, the talk has been that players who get set have to go on. Credit to KL Rahul for the way he has played and he has made sure that he has been part of some good partnerships,” he added.
Mayank Agarwal also scored 60 runs and he had shared an opening stand of 117 runs along with KL Rahul. Skipper Kohli was also looking good at the crease but he gave away his wicket to Lungi Ngidi after playing a 35-run knock.
Talking about his dismissal, Mayank said, “Well, to be honest I am not allowed to express my opinion on it and I will leave it at that unless I want to get in the bad books and get my money docked.”
Promoted
When asked about KL Rahul’s knock, Mayank said, “Someone who has been watching him closely, he really understands where his off-stump his, he is willing to get in the line of the ball. He is very disciplined with his gameplans and mindset. He is looking to bat through whenever he gets set.”
“I think the highlight for the team is Rahul getting a big hundred. We got good partnerships and I hope they continue going on in the match,” he added.
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