A lot was expected from Indian openers Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul when Virat Kohli-led Team India squared off against South Africa in the third and final Test of the three-match series at Newlands on Tuesday. Tasked to give Kohli-led Team India a promising start in the series decider on Day 1 of the Cape Town Test match, Rahul and Agarwal helped India cross the 30-run mark.
However, South African pacers Duanne Olivier and Kagiso Rabada resumed normal service for the Proteas in the opening session of the 3rd Test. Talking about Agarwal’s cheap dismissal on-air, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar questioned the shot selection of the Indian batter as the Kohli & Co. lost openers early in the 3rd Test match. Batting icon Gavaskar is an integral part of the commentary panel for the South Arica Test series.
Speaking about Agarwal’s batting style in India’s 1st innings, Gavaskar decoded the dismissal of the Indian opener on air. “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. 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,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
While Agarwal departed after making 15 off 35 balls, opener Rahul was dismissed for 12 off 35 balls. Averaging 25.60 in 3 innings for the visitors, opener Agarwal has amassed 128 runs in the three-match Test series between India and South Africa.
“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,” the batting legend added.
Despite registering forgetful individual scores, Rahul and Mayank managed to go past the iconic opening pair of Virender Sehwag, and Gautam Gambhir in South Africa. Team India managed to score 129/4 in 48 overs before the end of the 2nd session on Day 1 of the 3rd Test.
