India opener Mayank Agarwal might have been out of the national side for a little over a year now, but his first-class performances in the time out of the Test team, have certainly been worth taking a look at. In the Ranji Trophy last year, the Karnataka skipper emerged as the highest run-scorer (990) in the entire tournament, while this year he has scored 242 from three matches at average of over 48, including two back-to-back tons.
Despite getting a pair in the first match against Punjab this year, Mayank has not only regained form, but also has been one of the better performers in the team. Karnataka, on the other hand, has been a little shaky, winning versus Punjab, losing to Gujarat, and then drawing against Goa.
Speaking exclusively to Insidesport, Mayank opened up about his roller-coaster journey in the tournament so far, and how he’s happy to put in the scores. He also laid the emphasis on ‘winning the key moments’, that will eventually translate into the team’s success.
Title For Karnataka Will Come If..
“It has been good (batting form), I must say now. Obviously, it didn’t start the way I wanted it to, but I’m happy to be back with a couple of solid performances,” Mayank said. Reflecting on the recent matches, Mayank made it clear, that they should have won against Gujarat, and secured some points there. For the record, Karnataka lost the match by six runs, despite dominating the match for major part.
“I think, it was one match where we should have come out on top. It’s a bitter pill to swallow. When we lost a couple of wickets, they really got on top of us and they put a lot of pressure on the backend, and took it from there. As team and players, you have to be honest with yourselves, and reflect on what went wrong.”
But since then, the team seems to have moved on, and it’s time for them to set higher goals, maybe think of clinching the trophy. Karnataka had last won the Ranji Trophy in 2014-15, and since then has come close to lifting the title a few times.
“We’re playing good cricket. But I will just say that as a team, and as individuals, we just need to look at what moments we are winning in the match. I think if if we can do that, then we will definitely go the distance. We have a lot of lot of young guys coming through the system and doing really well. So that is that is great sign for us,” Mayank added.
India Comeback
It probably is needless to say that every cricketer in the country strives to play for the national team, but sometimes it just gets too difficult to get a look in. But as Mayank puts it, he’s glad to be coming up with substantial performances, and focus on the controllables. “I think a little differently. What has to be, will be, and I just need to continue to keep doing what I’m doing. And I’m quite happy with the kind of performances I’m putting in. That’s as much, as much as I can do.
“For now I’m just looking at the things I need to do. I have a few boxes that I need to tick, in terms of my preparation, my performances, my fitness, and as long as I can manage to do that, I’m happy,” he concluded.
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