Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023-24: ‘Just good enough’ not sufficient as run-hungry Mayank Agarwal eyes India comeback

Mayank Agarwal was on 67, throughout Karnataka’s spherical one Vijay Hazare Trophy match in opposition to Jammu & Kashmir on Thursday in Ahmedabad, when Abdul Samad examined him within the block gap.

Fighting his excessive again elevate, of which he has been responsible up to now, Agarwal by some means dug out the yorker however chipped it in the direction of Qamran Iqbal at cowl. The fielder’s dive to his left obtained him to the ball however was not sufficient to carry onto it.

As the ball popped out, Agarwal scampered to the non-striker’s finish, the place he put his head down, took a second to himself, and hit the reset button.

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A number of overs earlier, a supply from Umran Malik had crept underneath Agarwal’s drive which, going by Malik’s disbelief upon the umpire’s denial of his enchantment, made a stable case for a leg-before.

“The wicket was a little slow at times. Some lengths were not very easy. But the plan was to stay disciplined and pick the balls to score off,” Agarwal stated after the match.

On such a pitch, underneath extraordinary circumstances, an innings price 67 would have been adequate. His opening affiliation with Samarth R was inching in the direction of 150, and it was already a job properly achieved by the Karnataka captain.

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The circumstances, nevertheless, demand extra than simply adequate from Agarwal. For a Test opener who has seen his slide within the pecking order within the Indian workforce, solely eye-catching makes the minimize.

Unlike his essay in opposition to J&Okay, Agarwal’s struggle to reinstate his place within the nationwide setup doesn’t afford the posh of choosing moments. Every event should reinforce his bid for a comeback.

His 990 runs within the Ranji Trophy final season at 82.50, the best within the version, gave a peep into that desperation. The 341 within the Deodhar Trophy, second to solely Riyan Parag’s 354, earlier this 12 months, have been minimize from the identical fabric.

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Agarwal’s final Test look got here in March 2022 throughout Sri Lanka’s tour of India. The workforce administration subsequently went forward with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the excursions to Bangladesh and West Indies, respectively, who repaid the religion with centuries. The duo’s prolific Indian Premier League (IPL) report additional helped their trigger.

After almost two years on the sidelines, it will take an optimist to journey on List A tournaments and gun for a comeback within the longest format over two extremely touted children. However, at 32, Agarwal can nonetheless afford to be one.

“My thought is always, ‘whenever I get on the ground, I want to score runs’. I want to win matches for my team, whatever comes from that comes. I am somebody who looks to take it one game at a time. I truly believe what has to be will take care of itself,” he stated.

The reprieve on Thursday in all probability flicked that swap for Agarwal, convincing him to go massive. The prudence made means for proactivity as Agarwal determined to modify gears.

Agarwal’s cost was initially reserved for the spinners, who he plundered by charging down and attending to the pitch of the ball. To negotiate the low bounce in opposition to the pacers, Agarwal single-mindedly curtailed his photographs sq. of the wicket.

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“[We wanted to] Give ourselves time to get set. Once we got a good measure of the wicket, we expanded and played the cricket we wanted to,” he stated.

The siege began with Yudhvir Singh’s over, the thirtieth of the innings, earlier than Agarwal tore down J&Okay’s tempo ace Malik. In the thirty sixth over, Agarwal moved to a ton with a drive that bisected the mid-on and canopy fielders and adopted it up with a six again over Malik’s head.

Agarwal topped it off with a lean-back ramp shot in reply to a bouncer from Malik. Of the eight bowlers utilized by J&Okay, Agarwal collected essentially the most runs off Malik (40). By the time Sahil Lotra produced a supply that obtained the higher of Agarwal, he had put his facet on track for 400.

His 133-ball 157 added weight to the case he has been placing forth since final season. That is about as a lot as one can do. “Theek thaak run bana diye hain, yaar (I’ve scored a decent amount of runs),” he chuckled after the match.

With at the very least six extra video games left for Karnataka within the competitors, Agarwal would hope so as to add some extra.