India dominates on day one
Pic: ICC
|| Desk report ||
Mayank Agarwal scored a 161-ball 76 AS India retain control on day one of the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The visitors ended the day at 215/2, with Cheteshwar Pujara (68*) and skipper Virat Kohli (47*) at the crease while Pat Cummins chipped in with figures of 2/40.
India, who won the toss and decided to bat first, opted for a complete revamp of their opening combination. They brought in Agarwal and promoted Hanuma Vihari to the top of the order in place of Murali Vijay and KL Rahul.
Vihari battled hard for his 66-ball 8 until he was removed by Cummins with smart and skiddy delivery to draw the first blood as it ended the 40-run opening stand.
Pujara along with Agarwal added 83 runs for the second wicket before a short delivery from Cummins caught the inside edge of the Agarwal’s gloves that was grabbed safely in Tim Paine's hands behind the wicket.
Agarwal's 76 is the second-highest score for an Indian opening batsman making a debut in overseas conditions, just a run behind the 77 Sudhir Naik scored in England back in 1974. While he missed out on the record – and a well-deserved century – his splendid effort in away conditions was impressive.
His strong back-lift, comfort against the spinner and solid technique were the biggest standouts from his innings.
Kohli then joined Pujara for a marathon partnership, which took India to stumps without further hiccups. India's reliable middle-order duo added 92 runs in the final session.
Australia's best chance of the session came when Kohli went searching for a wide delivery from Starc, but Paine couldn't hold on to the ball despite his diving effort.
The dropped catch fired up the bowler, who then bowled a scintillating over. He did everything right, extracting an outside edge and producing three appeals, but the Indian skipper survived.
Input: ICC
