"These kind of players are like parasites in the team" - Fans criticise Mayank Agarwal's bland knock in GT vs SRH IPL 2024 clashÂ
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opening batter Mayank Agarwal's struggles in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) continue. He was dismissed after scoring 16 runs off 17 deliveries against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, March 30.
Mayank had opened the innings with the in-form Travis Head, but could not make the most of the fielding restrictions. The batter struggled with timing and placement, and only scored two boundaries, one of which came from a misfield.
Head started the innings on a bright note, scoring consecutive boundaries to kickstart proceedings. However, the aggressive opener was starved of strike while Mayank failed to make the most, and eventually perished with a strike rate of below 100.
For the third match in succession, the opening batter fell to a short ball. Mayank Agarwal tried to pull Azmatullah Omarzai in the fifth over of the innings, but did not get enough power on the stroke, as it found Darshan Nalkande at deep square leg.
Fans were not pleased with Mayank's approach on a surface that did not have much for the bowlers. There was an argument for him to at least hand over the strike to Head if he was unable to execute the big shots.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
Mayank Agarwal has only scored 59 runs in three matches in IPL 2024 so far
The opening batter, who had a topsy-turvy Ranji season, began his season with a quickfire 32-run knock in the run chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens.
He was dismissed for just 11 in the run-fest against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in SRH's first home game of the season. SRH piled on IPL's highest score of 277, but Agarwal was the lone batter who could not assert himself in the game.
SRH were placed at 34/1 in the fifth over, but the scoring rate was amplified by the in-form Abhishek Sharma's introduction. The left-handed batter took on Rashid Khan as SRH ended the powerplay with a healthy total of 56 runs.
However, GT have fought back with Travis Head's wicket right after the powerplay, and as of writing, the score reads 64/2 after eight overs.