IND vs NZ 2nd Test: Mayank Agarwal place in the eleven might have been in question in the recent few days, but looks like the swashbuckling right-hander pay no heed to it as his bat did the talking on a sunny day at Wankhede Stadium in the second Test here in Mumbai on Friday. Follow IND vs NZ 2nd Test Live at InsideSport.IN.
IND vs NZ 2nd Test: Mayank Agarwal hits his 4th Test hundred, first since November 2019
The 30-year-old took 196 ball to bring up his fourth Test hundred. The last time the Karnataka batsman hit a hundred was in November 2019 against Bangladesh in Indore. The opener had went on to amass his career best score of 243 runs in the game which India won by an innings and 30 runs.
Post the knock, the closest Mayank Agarwal came to the three-figure mark was in Wellington against New Zealand in February 2020 when he top-scored for India with 58 runs in the second innings of the match which the Virat Kohli-led side lost by 10 wickets.
Later, young Shubman Gill, after his exploits in Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, became the first-choice player to open the innings with Rohit Sharma. The 30-year-old remained the part of the squad on most of the occasions but deprived of game time. During the England series last year, his long-time friend KL Rahul preferred ahead in all the four Test matches.
Also, Mayank registered scores of 13 and 17 in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, some experts opined that Cheteshwar Pujara could be promoted to open with Shubman Gill to make room for Shreyas Iyer after the arrival of Virat Kohli in the playing eleven. The debate had started after Iyer slammed a hundred on his debut and put some serious pressure on underperforming Agarwal, Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man – Mayank Agarwal made the opportunity in Mumbai count and looked in sublime form from ball one. Mayank forged a strong 80-run partnership with Gill and later stood rock solid after dismissals of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara – both of whom departed on ducks.
Agarwal, who was recently retained by Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the price of Rs 14 crore, celebrated late but in style. He was swift with his footwork and pounced on any lose delivery from the Kiwi bowlers.
That moment when @mayankcricket got to his 4th Test Century 👏👏
Live – https://t.co/KYV5Z1jAEM #INDvNZ @Paytm pic.twitter.com/GFXapG6GQo
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 3, 2021
His epic comeback knock was studded with 13 fours and 3 sixes. He reached to the milestone with a glorious cover drive off pacer Daryl Mitchel. A thrilled Mayank jumped in air and roared in delight as everyone including coach Rahul Dravid at the Wankhede stood on their feet and applauded. A long hug between him and Wriddhiman Saha followed.
IND vs NZ 2nd Test: Mayank Agarwal hits his 4th Test hundred, first since November 2019
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