Indian opener Mayank Agarwal hit a half-century in his debut match against Australia on Day 1 of the Melbourne Test.
Agarwal, handed a Test debut after KL Rahul and Murali Vijay failed in the first two matches, repaid the faith shown in him by the team management by giving India a solid start to the third test. On a slow day, Agarwal kept the scoreboard ticking after a watchful initial period, reaching his maiden Test half-century off 95 balls.
It was only the second instance in 11 overseas Tests this year that Virat Kohli was yet to arrive at the crease with 100-plus runs on the scoreboard. The first instance was in Nottingham during the second innings against England.
Earlier, new openers Hanuma Vihari and Agarwal put on 40 runs after batting out 18.5 overs, India's longest opening stand in terms of balls faced in Test cricket across Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa since December 2010 when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had batted out 29.3 overs against the Proteas at Centurion.
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra and commentator Harsha Bhogle were a few of many to celebrate Agarwal’s debut on Twitter.
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