'Nothing short of a 200 will do'- Mayank Agarwal reveals how Virat Kohli motivated him to score double hundreds

Indian Test opener Mayank Agarwal has had a whirlwind start to his international career. Agarwal, who earned his way into the national side by breaking the door through sheer weight of runs in domestic cricket made his debut in Test cricket mid-way through the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Mayank’s baptism with fire in his debut innings at the colosseum that is the Melbourne Cricket Ground, was for everyone to see as he ably blunted Aussie attack. He did that again in the next Test in Sydney and although he failed to convert his half-centuries, which is so unlike Mayank who has a deep penchant for Daddy hundreds, into a three-figure score, the Karnataka batsman did enough to nail down the openers’ spot.

Virat Kohli’s pep talk to Mayank Agarwal

Mayank finally breached the barrier in Vizag against a hapless South African attack to the tune of 215. The Karnataka batsman, in the latest interview to ESPNCricinfo, revealed how skipper Virat Kohli egged him on to convert the hundred into a monstrous score.

“Against South Africa when I got a 150, Virat [Kohli] was there at the other end and he said “Nothing short of a 200 will do. You’re batting well, make sure to not just score for yourself but for your team. The team needs to get a bigger score and it’s important for you to be there to help us get that score at a faster pace,” he said.

Mayank Agarwal was at it again when he feasted on another hapless [Bangladesh] bowling attack to rack up his second double-hundred [243] in a space of three Test matches. And, everyone saw how Virat Kohli motivated him with his gestures to just keep batting.

“Nothing short of 200 is gonna do, he said. So when I got to 150, it was a reminder from his side that we have spoken about these things. Now you’ve got to go out there and execute because you’re batting well, you’re in the middle, the team’s in a good position and the team requires you to take us through to more,” the 28-year-old further added.

Challenges abound for ‘out-of-form’ Mayank

His next challenge is against a potent Kiwi attack in conditions ideally suited for seam and swing and by the evidence of the practice match in Hamilton- bounce. He has had a forgettable start to the tour; he bagged a pair in the four-day game against New Zealand A; floundered in his maiden ODI series- 36 runs in three games- and could manage only 1 run in the first innings of the ongoing practice match.

But encountering adversity is not new for Mayank Agarwal. He has successfully countered them before and India and its fans will hope he counters them again in the Test series against New Zealand.