cricket

Updated: Nov 16, 2019 07:57 IST

Ajinkya Rahane was gliding along, he was looking set to notch up a Test hundred. The ball was short, it was wide, Rahane rose with it and slapped it away to point. However, the point fielder was not on the ropes but a few paces inside and took the catch comfortably. Rahane took the walk back, and passed Mayank Agarwal who stood mid-pitch and looked distraught. He was gutted his partner could not get to his century, he was gutted because his team had lost an important wicket. That picture there spoke volumes about Mayank Agarwal, his character and why he never gives up.

When he was piling on the runs in domestic cricket, when he smashed more than a 1000 runs in one season, when no one was looking, and when no recognition was coming his way, he did not give up. His character was forged there, runs are important, team is even more. He was happy his team was winning matches and he was contributing.

Also Read: ‘Mayank plays PubG,’ Agarwal’s brilliant reply to journalist wins hearts

Hence, when the call up came, he walked out to take guard at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground he was not overawed. When he crunched his first runs through covers and got off the mark in Test cricket, he was not overawed. When he aced the Australia Test, he was not overawed – all these were just extrapolations of his character which had been forged in the dirt and dust of domestic cricket in India.

However, he never has had any complaints, for him it has always been about the journey. Well, he replaced his best buddy KL Rahul in Australia and seldom does he get caught up in pausing and comparing. So, when Indian cricket is brimming with talent, when Indian cricket has a plethora of talent vying to get into the national side, Mayank is calm, he wants to focus on his own journey.

“Look my journey is different from theirs. I do not believe in comparing in two people’s journey. Somebody might get a chance early, somebody might get a chance late, but that is not in our control. I am glad that I have got a chance to represent the country, and from here it is up to me to contribute, win games for the side,” he said after his herculean knock.

Also Read: IPL 2020 | Final list of players retained and released by all 8 teams

On Day 2, the hosts started breezily. Pujara and Mayank got off the blocks pretty quickly and Bangladesh were pushed back. They, however, responded. Abu Jayed got rid of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in quick succession. The Test cricketer, the accumulator and the temperament of Mayank then came to the fore. He weathered the storm, he was willing to cede few inches to Bangladesh for the next half and hour. He did, there was period of consolidation and when Mehidy Hasan was introduced, he cashed in. With great use of the feet and with precise timing, he galloped past 50.

There was those crisp drives through covers, those authoritative pulls through mid-wicket and that assured defence. He had honed his skills in domestic cricket, when no one was paying attention, he was showing them when the world was hooked on. As he completed his second run to complete his ton, he raced past the stumps, lofted his hands, saluted the dressing room and buckled down again.

Not one to fritter away starts, not one to fritter away 100s, he took guard again. The scoring rate picked up, the expansive strokes made frequent appearances, but the calm was still around him. Mehidy had the ball in the 70th over, there was a deep point, a deep mid-wicket, a long on and a long off in place. The square leg, however, was up and possibly for the first time, he brought out the sweep. The boundary was found, the mind was ticking and he was playing with the field.

When Rahane departed, he stood in the middle of the pitch. He looked all across the ground when Jadeja joined him. He walked with him to the striker’s end, passed on few tips about the surface and then started his innings. While Jadeja was careful in his approach, Mayank was now hurtling along, he wanted the double century, he was rattling along, yet never over doing it. How much you succeed can only be measured by the strength of your desire, it can only be measured by the strength of the dream. Along the way, how you handle failures and loneliness, and how to stand up again – when you succeed all of these traits come flooding back.

“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.

So, out he came, dancing off the blocks, close enough to the pitch of the ball and picked the bones out if it – the dreams, the trials, the tribulations echoing somewhere in the distance as the ball was planted over mid-wicket. He swivelled, lifted his hands yet again, raised his head and marked his territory. Second double century in his eighth Test, it speaks volumes about Mayank’s character, about the man he has become, about his struggles and now, about his success.