CHENNAI: Mayank Agarwal could have easily missed the Mumbai Test. Not because of injury or for any fault of his. Whenever a difficult selection call has to be made, Indian cricket has taken the route of sacrificing what it considers a weak link.
In a team that has always had a strong middle-order, more often than not it is the openers who have taken the axe. It happened under Sourav Ganguly. Current head coach Rahul Dravid has done it as captain. And even Virat Kohli is no exception to this. Captains and team management prefer a stop-gap arrangement, especially if tough calls have to be made midway through a series. So when it was clear that only one of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane would play at the Wankhede, the only left-field option left for both to feature in the second Test was if India dropped Agarwal and instead send one of Srikar Bharat or Wriddhiman Saha to open. Thankfully, these talks never really found mention among the team management, who were crystal clear about the need of having a regular at the top.
That Rahane would eventually miss the Test with a hamstring injury is another story, but Agarwal was considered good enough to be dropped, it said a thing or two about where his career was headed. There was a time when his continuous omission made little sense, just like how all the current talks of dropping him altogether sounds like in the absence of a reliable third opener.
Unlike Pujara and Rahane, who have got long ropes, Agarwal didn't get one. In fact, Indian openers seldom get that luxury. It took him only three bad Tests – in Christchurch, Adelaide (pink ball) and Melbourne — to lose his spot to Rohit Sharma. And he got a chance to play in this series, only because both Rohit and KL Rahul are missing. So dropping him to accommodate both Pujara and Rahane — although not justified — wouldn't have made much noise when you know he is not going to open in South Africa. So when Agarwal walked in on Friday, his future in the team was uncertain.
Dravid had a word too: “He told me, 'Listen just control what is in your hands. You have this opportunity, go out there, give your best, and that's all we ask of you. And when you get set, make it big.' I am happy. I am happy that when I got set, I could capitalise. But yeah that was very clear from Rahul bhai.”
And by the time he walked back to the dressing room at the end of Day 1, unbeaten on 120, he not only served a timely reminder but also had bailed out India from trouble. Thanks to his fourth Test century, India choosing to bat first after the first session was washed out because of the wet outfield, were 221/4 at stumps on a pitch where it is taking good turn and batting is only going to get difficult as the match progresses.
Under the circumstances, this was a wonderfully placed hundred from Agarwal, who took the job on to himself after India lost the wickets of Shubman Gill (44), Pujara (0), and Kohli (0) at 80. Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel was beginning to look unplayable as he consistently landed the ball around the middle and off stump channel to repeatedly test the outside edge.
India needed a batter who could counter the spinners, and Agarwal knew it was his responsibility. First, he had to disrupt Ajaz's rhythm and he did so by hitting him over the cover-fence for a six and following it up with a boundary. It was probably the shots that sort of calmed not only the Indian dressing room, but also Agarwal.
“It was a plan because I thought he bowled exceedingly well today. He kept bowling in a cluster and he kept putting pressure. Anything that was in our half, the plan was to be a little attacking. Anything that came little towards us in length, I was definitely looking to go. He is somebody who bowled really well, really consistent. He had that phase when he really tied us down, so if we had let him bowl the way he did he would have probably ended with more wickets,” Agarwal said.
From there on, the 30-year-old was in full control of the situation. In the company of Shreyas, he steadied India and with William Somerville offering freebies, Agarwal ensured none of it were wasted. The dismissal of Shreyas after an 80-run stand proved to be another hiccup, but with Wriddhiman Saha giving enough support from the other end, Agarwal swiftly moved to his fourth century at home.
Scoreboard: India 1st Innings: Agarwal (batting) 120, Gill c Taylor b Patel 44, Pujara b Patel 0, Kohli lbw b Patel 0, Iyer c Blundell b Patel 18, Saha (batting) 25; Extras: (b9, lb5) 14; Total: (4 wickets in 70 ovs) 221; FoW: 1-80, 2-80, 3-80, 4-160; Bowling: Southee 15-5-29-0, Jamieson 9-2-30-0, Patel 29-10-73-4, Somerville 8-0-46-0, Ravindra 4-0-20-0, Mitchell 5-3-9-0.