Returning opener Mayank Agarwal had a forgetful outing for the Ajinkya Rahane-led side in the opening match of the ongoing Test series between Kane Williamson-led New Zealand and hosts Team India on Thursday. With star opener Agarwal showcasing a batting failure in the whites for India, Punjab Kings (PBKS) batting coach and former cricketer Wasim Jaffer has decoded the technical fault which resulted in the opener’s cheap dismissal.
Openers Agarwal and Shubman Gill were tasked to give India a steady start in the absence of the established opening duo of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. While Gill repaid selectors’ faith by slamming a gritty half-century, Agarwal took a long walk back the pavilion in the 7th over. Talking about the Indian opener’s cheap dismissal in the 1st Test against New Zealand, Jaffer said that the PBKS star batter didn’t look confident against speed merchant Kyle Jamieson.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo during an interaction, Jaffer opined that Agarwal would be unhappy with his shot selection. The former Indian opener recalled that Agarwal was playing and missing quite a few balls in India’s 1st innings at Kanpur.
“He has a tendency of staying a little bit on the back foot, outswingers do pose him a little bit of a problem. He gets opened up, gets chest on quite a lot. That’s something he needs to work on in his game, especially in conditions where there’s lateral moment. That’s exactly what happened,” Jaffer said.
Agarwal departed after playing 28 balls and scoring 13 runs. The Indian opener struck two boundaries in his below-par knock against the Black Caps. “In that small innings, he didn’t look confident against Jamieson and he obviously found that edge. He would be unhappy that he played at those balls that he should have left alone,” Jaffer added.
Jamieson, who got the better of Agarwal in the Kanpur Test, also removed Gill (52) and Rahane (35) to stage a fightback for the Black Caps. Shreyas Iyer (75*) and Ravindra Jadeja’s (50*) sublime knocks guided Team India to 258-4 in 84 overs on Day 1 at Kanpur
