cricket

Updated: Dec 29, 2018 10:26 IST

Debutant Mayank Agarwal took a painful blow in the neck while fielding at forward short leg on the fourth day of the third Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), on Saturday.

Early in the second session of the day, Usman Khawaja swept a Ravindra Jadeja delivery and the ball hit Agarwal in the neck after taking a bounce. Agarwal was clearly in some pain as concerned Indian players ran up to him to check on the 27-year-old.

Also Read: India vs Australia LIVE Score, 3rd Test, Day 4 in Melbourne

Mayank Agarwal is making his way from the field after this nasty blow fielding in close.



Hopefully nothing serious #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/tE1aCQqhwl — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 29, 2018

Agarwal then had to leave the field for some time after consulting with Team India’s physio. The debutant made his way back into the middle after a short injury break to allay fears of something serious.

Earlier, Agarwal showed his brilliance in his first outing on the international arena as he hit a brilliant 76 in the first innings and then backed it up with a gritty 42 to become the team’s leading run-getter in the second essay.

In total, Agarwal scored 118 in this match is the second-highest score by an Indian opener who has made his debut away from home. Agarwal stands only behind the legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar (132) in this illustrious list.

After scoring a fifty in the first innings, Agarwal had revealed that it wasn’t easy for him to keep a check on his emotions on his Test debut.

Also Read: Mayank Agarwal joins elite list after impressive show at the MCG

“It wasn’t easy to get hold of those emotions and focus there, but it needed to be done. I just stuck to my plans and just kept telling myself, “there is a plan that I have to go through and I am just going to stick to that”. Even though it was overwhelming, it was good and I am happy with the way I started,” Agarwal added.

“It’s a big stage, and a big opportunity, and I had the seniors walk up to me, telling that bigger the day, bigger the opportunity to leave a mark,” said Agarwal.