"One man army!"- Fans hail Mayank Agarwal for a fighting 99*
Mayank Agarwal's brilliant innings of 99* has helped the Punjab Kings (PBKS) post a competitive total of 166-6 in their 20 overs against Delhi Capitals (DC). The PBKS skipper single-handedly anchored the innings and carried his bat to ensure the bowlers had something to bowl at.
The absence of KL Rahul was a huge blow for PBKS since he was the highest run-scorer so far with 331 runs to his name. But filling his shoes to some extent, Mayank Agarwal took the responsibility brilliantly and was the glue that held the PBKS batting together.
The 30-year-old had scored 424 runs in 11 games last IPL season and was recalled to India's white-ball squads. Another fine IPL season could give Mayank Agarwal an outside chance of making it to the Men In Blue's T20 World Cup squad.
Twitter reacts to Mayank Agarwal's brilliant knock
Before the game against DC, Mayank Agarwal had just 161 runs from 6 games and was under the scanner for his form. But with this sensational innings, he has once again proved why he is so highly rated in white-ball cricket despite being a regular in India's Test squad.
Fans were disappointed to see Mayank Agarwal fall short of a well-deserved hundred by just one run. However, they also hailed him for single-handedly taking PBKS to a fighting total. Here's how Twitter reacted:
The PBKS batting faltered once again with the likes of Prabhsimran Singh and Chris Gayle returning to the hut early. Dawid Malan did stick around for a bit with Mayank Agarwal, but a flurry of wickets meant that it was the stand-in skipper who had to do most of the work.
While KL Rahul's absence was clearly hurting PBKS, Mayank Agarwal ensured that he kept his wicket intact and took the game deep. At the death, the 30-year-old exploded and brilliantly accelerated his innings.
Agarwal took pacer Avesh Khan for 23 runs in the last over but couldn't quite complete his hundred. However, he will be happier if PBKS manages to win the game in the absence of their talisman.