Mayank The Man For India Again; Pujara And Kohli Join The Party

The home team batsmen quell the challenge posed by Rabada & Co. to post a comfortable 273 for three on the opening day

- Amol Karhadkar

Kagiso Rabada lived up to his reputation and troubled the Indian batsmen all through the day by bowling in the perfect channel. Anrich Nortje posed questions with his express pace. And Vernon Philander was as consistent as ever.

Still, the South African pace triumvirate couldn’t strike as regularly as they would have liked to in conditions that suited them far more than at Visakhapatnam as the Indian batsmen gained the upper hand on the opening day of the second Test.

Opener Mayank Agarwal’s second hundred of the series, backed by fifties by the ever-reliable Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, helped the hosts reach 273 for three when bad light brought an end to the proceedings at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday.

Milking the bowling

Mayank’s 138-run partnership with Pujara for the second wicket steadied the ship after Rohit Sharma’s early loss. Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane then milked the Proteas’ bowling during their unbroken 75run association to ensure India was set for a second big total in the series.