India vs Bangladesh 2019: Mayank Agarwal on the verge of setting Indian batting record
Mayank Agarwal has gotten his Test career off to a scintillating start. The Indian opener has notched up three hundreds and three half-centuries in just 12 Test innings thus far and is currently averaging a whopping 71.50.
With 858 runs under his belt, Agarwal is closing in on a unique record. The 28-year-old needs just 142 runs to breach the 1000-run barrier in Tests and if he manages to achieve the feat in his next innings - in the upcoming Eden Gardens Test - he would become the fastest Indian to the milestone, surpassing Vinod Kambli, who needed 14 innings to notch up his 1000th Test run.
Agarwal would also match legendary Australian Don Bradman, who achieved the feat in 13 innings. This would make him the joint-second fastest to the 1000-run mark in Test cricket, behind only Everton Weekes and Herbert Sutcliffe, who needed just 12 innings.
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The Karnataka opener has already broken a host of records in his budding Test career. With his double century in the first Test against Bangladesh at Indore, Agarwal became the first Indian opener to notch up a double hundred against the Tigers in Test cricket.
His knock also propelled him to a career-best 11th spot in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen and another big score could see him breach the top 10.
However, he will have his task cut out as the pitch at Eden Gardens is set to aid the bowlers early on. Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane sounded a warning ahead of the historic day-night Test, claiming that batters would have to adjust quickly to cope with the exaggerated movement of the pink ball.
“Definitely it is a different ball game when we play with the pink ball. Our focus during the practice session was to see the seam and swing and also looking to play close to the body. What we found about after the practice session was that the pink ball does a lot compared to the red ball and hence, one had to play slightly late and close to the body."
The second Test between India and Bangladesh will commence on November 22nd, at Eden Gardens.