cricket

Updated: Nov 16, 2019 13:58 IST

Mayank Agarwal hogged the limelight on Friday as he hit his second double century of the year against Bangladesh in Indore. Mayank started the day on 37 and ended the day with a score of 243 runs. His innings oozed of class and flamboyance as he slammed 28 fours and 8 sixes at the Holkar Stadium in Indore to wrest the match in India’s favour.

Mayank brought up his double century with a massive six over long-on and with that, he broke a lot of records. Mayank surpassed legendary cricketer Sir Don Bradman as he became the second-fastest batsman to take fewest innings to two double tons. Mayank took 12 innings to get to that feat while Bradman scored two 200s in 13 innings. The list is headed by Vinod Kambli, who took only 5 innings for the first two double tons.

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Mayank also equaled Navjot Singh Sidhu’s record of most number of sixes by an Indian batsman in a Test innings. Sidhu hit 8 sixes in his innings of 124 against Sri Lanka, a record he now shares with Mayank.

“It’s Test cricket, you have 5 days, you have time to get in and then score big. At the same time, you have to respect the game. There have been times when I have not scored runs, but when I am batting well, it is my responsibility to put the team in a dominant position. When I am scoring runs, I have to make it big, put the team in such a position that we do not lose a game. When you have got a hundred, it is on you to take the team through,” Mayank said after the day’s play.

The pitch on day 1 had a lot of assistance for the bowlers, but after a day of baking sun, it has settled down nicely and fact which was mentioned by the opener.

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“The pitch has settled down compared to yesterday. It has got better to bat on, it also has good bounce and there is great value for your strokes,” he further added.

“It comes down to the game plan. You have to identify bowlers and moments where you can attack and then picking the right ball. You have to respect the game and situation, you cannot hit every ball, it will never happen. One has to understand the situation and identify the bowler you can go after. Pick those balls and have the mental discipline to wait for those balls,” the Karnataka batsman added.