India Tour of South Africa: Former Indian cricketers VVS Laxman and Sanjay Bangar lavished praise on Mayank Agarwal who excelled at spin and slammed a century and fifty in Mumbai Test. The duo explained his comeback and shed light on his specialisation to improve the game after Kanpur Test drubbing. Follow IND vs SA latest updates on InsideSport.IN
Mayank scored 150 and 62 in the first and second innings respectively of the second Test against New Zealand before India defeated the Kiwis.
India Tour of South Africa: Sanjay Bangar & VVS Laxman hail Mayank Agarwal’s ability to play spin after Mumbai Test heroics
India Tour of South Africa: Laxman- Mayank Agarwal- Laxman lavishes praise on Mayank for his batting against New Zealand star spinner Ajaz Patel. Ajaz had taken all 10 wickets in the first innings of the second Test against India.
“But when the spinners came in he was using his feet a lot and I think he played with a mindset, which is similar to what he used to play in first-class and international cricket,” said Laxman.
VVS Laxman also explained how batter Mayank Agarwal adjusted his stance to improve his game in the second Test against New Zealand.
India Tour of South Africa: “I think the difference between Kanpur and Mumbai was, that there were slight technical adjustments he made, more so he trusted the game plan against Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee,” Laxman said on Star Sports show Follow The Blues.
“Because in Kanpur in both the innings he got out at balls that were pitching on and outside the off stump, whereas in Mumbai, especially in the first innings, he was ready to leave a lot of deliveries. He was keeping his front foot in the pitch of the ball and he was playing with a lot of discipline,” he added.
“He has given a lot of importance to self-belief and it was great to see him coming in and expressing himself, and that’s why he hit some outstanding shots, especially against Ajaz Patel. His shot over long off and over extra cover for sixes are probably the best shots of his innings,” he added.
India Tour of South Africa: Bangar- Mayank Agarwal- Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar also praised batter Mayank Agarwal for his breakthrough performance.
“Mayank Agarwal’s batting style was commendable. He very efficiently countered Wankhede’s pitch which had a lot of turn and bounce. The way he approached and encountered Tim Southee was the highlight of the match because Southee was someone who troubled us a lot in the first Test match,” said Sanjay Bangar on Star Sports show Follow The Blues.
“Mayank showed a lot of discipline against pacers and scored a lot of runs against spinners, especially against Ajaz Patel. I think Ajaz is a bowler who pitches a ball higher and whenever he has pitched the ball higher, Mayank Agarwal has used this opportunity to use his feet and play aerial shots. He has played long shots with the turn and which is why I think this is a big achievement for Mayank Agarwal – the way he has made his comeback in Test cricket,” he added.
On Tuesday, Agarwal’s name was inscribed on the honours board of the Wankhede Stadium following his brilliant performance in the second Test against New Zealand.
India Tour of South Africa: Sanjay Bangar & VVS Laxman hail Mayank Agarwal’s ability to play spin after Mumbai Test heroics
Despite Mayank’s heroics, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are favourites to open India innings in South Africa. The duo was excellent throughout the India Tour of England earlier this year. If Mayank would have smashed back to back hundreds then he might have been in the fray to play the opening Test in Johannesburg. The India vs South Africa Test series kick starts on December 26.
For more sports news and India Tour of South Africa live updates, follow us at InsideSport.IN
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