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IND vs NZ: Mayank Agarwal joins Sunil Gavaskar in the elite list after his heroics in Mumbai Test

Mayank Agarwal become the only fourth opening batter to score two 50+ in the same match against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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Sam Abraham
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IND vs NZ: Mayank Agarwal joins Sunil Gavaskar in the elite list after his heroics in Mumbai Test

Mayank Agarwal (Source: Twitter)

India opening batter has Mayank Agarwal become only the fourth opening batter to score two 50+ scores in the same match against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The right-hand batter thus joined Chetan Sharma (1978), Sunil Gavaskar (1978), and Kris Srikkanth (1987) to hit two half-centuries in the same match at the same venue. Gavaskar is the only member apart from Agarwal, who has scored a century.

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The former India opening batter had hit a double century against West Indies in 1978. Agarwal has scored 150 and 62 in the first and second innings respectively and thus made a strong comeback after a string of low scores. Coming into the Test match, there were possibilities of Agarwal being benched for the returning Virat Kohli. But vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane’s untimely injury gave Agarwal another chance.

He not only displayed a terrific resolve but also enough gumption to hang in the middle when the runs were hard to come by. In the first innings, it was his 150, which gave India a good total of 325. New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel was spinning a web, yet Agarwal kept scoring runs and hitting boundaries.

In the second innings, Agarwal continued from where he left. The 30-year-old, this time looked to attack from word go. He pounced on anything short and scored a well-made 62. Agarwal’s strong showing in the ongoing second Test against New Zealand augurs well for the team.

Meanwhile, speaking about the Mumbai Test, India are in the driver's seat as they have set New Zealand with a target of 540 to chase on the fourth innings. The home team have also managed to pick five wickets.

For the visitors, Ajaz Patel had a memorable match as he become only the third bowler after Jim Laker and Anil Kumble to take 10 wickets in an innings.

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