Mayank Agarwal was caught in the slips. (AFP Photo)
Mayank Agarwal failed to capitalise on a dropped catch to be out for 15.
- Last Updated:January 11, 2022, 18:11 IS
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Mayank Agarwal was dismissed cheaply on 15 by South African pacer Kagiso Rabada on the opening day of the third Test in Cape Town after India opted to bat first. Agarwal thus failed to capitalise on after being put down by Keegan Petersen off the same bowler when he was yet to get off the mark earlier.
What made the dismissal all the more frustrating was the fact that the India opener was out going at an outside off delivery quite hard early on in the morning session – something he had been guilty of doing earlier as well. And batting legend Sunil Gavaskar was quick to point that out while on-air.
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“Agarwal is a very good player when the ball is hitting the middle of the bat, for the simple reason that he’s got that lovely little push but when the ball moves a little bit, that bat speed gets him into trouble,” Gavaksar commented. “We have seen that edge when he was on 0, that would have been a terrific catch. Look at that… see how hard he has pushed at the ball.”
“Really if the bat and pad were together, he would have played and missed it. But because he went for it… he has gone for the ball… and in Test cricket there is an aspect of leaving the ball. Leave it as much as you can in the first hour. Just look where the bat has gone. Had it been close to the pad, he would have been fine,” he added.
Gavaskar wondered whether batters these days not make mental adjustments when switching between formats and appropriately make changed to their approach.
“To a great extent yes, but then it has got to be the mental adjustment more than anything else. Don’t you make mental adjustments from Test to 50-overs to T20 cricket? That is what needs to be done,” Gavaskar said.
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