5 Scintillating Batting Debuts the Cricketing World Witnessed!

Mayank Agarwal – 76 & 42 vs Australia (2018, Melbourne)

This Mayank Agarwal debut is mainly here for the preparation he went through before the Test than his performance in the Test itself. Of course, he was magnificent in the game with scores of 76 and 42 (which played a big part in India, setting a big total in the conditions that made batting look a haunting task). No need to mention how difficult it is to play Tests in Australia for a sub-continent batter who was young and debuting.

However, Mayank’s steady preparation and a more systematic transformation made me add him to this scintillating list. A few months before his national team debut, he was getting out like a walking duck to the moving balls in the English conditions during his India “A” tours. Undeterred, Mayank put himself in an immersed preparation for the bouncy conditions when he was selected for the tour down under, courtesy of his mind-boggling domestic batting numbers. And when he was given a chance in the third Test of the series, he made sure his head stood very still, and the bat came down a lot straighter than his previous occasions.

Even though the conditions were a little flatter than the previous Tests, his partnerships with Cheteshwar Pujara in the first innings and a shorter but more worthy one with Rishabh Pant in the second, proved to be the crucial factors in India’s win, along with the firing Jasprit Bumrah with the ball. Bumrah picked a nine-for in the game and claimed the Player of the Match.

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