Agarwal’s double ton and spinners put India in driver’s seat
India dominated the second day of the first Test in Visakhapatnam, with a double century from opener Mayank Agarwal and late strikes by their spinners leaving South Africa staring down the barrel.
India declared their innings on 502-7 before capturing three wickets as the Proteas went to stumps on 39-3. Earlier, Agarwal and overnight centurion Rohit Sharma broke a few records during their 317-run stand for the first wicket which further deflated the morale of the visiting side.
Rohit was finally dismissed for 176, stumped by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, having hit 23 fours and six sixes.
His departure did not stop the flow of runs as Agarwal carried on to his first double ton in Test cricket, which was also his first three-figure score.
The middle and lower order got the license to throw the bat around, and they tried their best on a wicket that had started to stay low and was offering sharp turn. Captain Virat Kohli had enough after 136 overs of batting and inserted the Proteas just as the light started to deteriorate.
For the South Africans, leftarm spinner Maharaj bowled a marathon 55 overs, conceding 189 runs and picking up three wickets. The visitors would have been looking forward to scoring a few runs of their own but survival become a priority, as spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja got into their own.
The returning Ashwin proved his unmatched mastery on subcontinent pitches again by spinning one sharply into opener Aiden Markram whose forward defence couldn’t protect his woodwork. One-down batsman Theunis de Bruyn went for an expansive drive to get a faint edge behind off Ashwin while nightwatchman Dane Piedt was comprehensively bowled by Jadeja.
With the ball turning square and also staying low, South Africa have a mountain to climb as they look to first get close to India’s total before even thinking about saving the match.
Man of the moment Agarwal said the nature of the pitch has changed over the course of two days and that is only good news for Indian spinners. “Initially, the pitch did do a bit for their seamers. As the sun came out, it got better,” Agarwal said.
“As we came to lunch on the second day, the ball started to keep low. And around tea, it started turning.
“Good signs for us. The way the wicket is playing now, I think we can benefit from it.”