India opener Mayank Agarwal was livid with himself after squandering a golden opportunity to score a maiden Test hundred on day one of the fourth Test against Australia but hopes to quickly learn from mistakes.
Agarwal scored 77 runs, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored his 18th Test hundred, as India finished the day at 303/4. Agarwal and Pujara put on 116 runs for the second wicket, setting a platform for the rest of India’s batsmen.
Agarwal, who had scored 76 and 42 in his debut Test in Melbourne, mistimed a heave off Nathan Lyon to hole out to long-on for 77 on Thursday. He later admitted he was disappointed at not being able to convert his starts into big scores.
“I am really disappointed I threw my wicket away,” he told reporters in a press conference after the day’s play. “I was looking to dominate Nathan Lyon but it didn’t work out. That said, it is a learning curve. If I don’t make this mistake again, it will be a good learning.”
Agarwal lost his opening partner KL Rahul (9) early before facing a testing spell of short bowling from the Australian pacers. The Australian pace bowling attack came [at us] really, really hard,” he said. “They bowled quick bouncers and they were sharp. They were consistent and didn’t give anything away.
Agarwal added that his and Pujara’s focus was on building a partnership.
“We thought let’s try play close to the body and not give them wickets even if we don’t get too many runs too quick. Let’s try build a partnership and take it from there,” he said.
Pujara was unbeaten on 130 runs at stumps, having faced 250 balls, the fourth time he has played 200-plus deliveries in an innings on this tour. Agarwal talked about learning from his batting style and showered heady praise on the senior batsman, who scored his third hundred of the series.
“It’s great to watch him bat from the other end – the way he grinds the bowlers, he has got a pattern to it. He understands his strengths, and he sticks to them. He knows he is very tight with his defence. He waits for the bad ball to come. He tells me what they are looking to do. We keep communicating a lot.”
Agarwal also credited India A coach Rahul Dravid for helping him reach where he is.
“We as batsmen speak a lot to him about our technique, about our game,” he said. “He is out there to guide us and help us climb the ladder. His advice has been really helpful. He told me to particularly manage my mental energy. That’s something we spoke about for 4-6 months.”
Agarwal ended the press conference by saying India are happy with their position at the end of day one. “We would have liked to be just three down but that said 303/4 on first day after choosing to bat, I think we are in a great position. It also depends on how we continue tomorrow,” he said.
With inputs from PTI
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