'Welcome back' - Twitterverse react as Mayank Agarwal slams brilliant century against New Zealand in Mumbai Test

Fourth hundred for Mayank Agarwal in Test match cricket and a special one indeed! The right-handed batter tackled the bowlers brilliantly in the ongoing second Test against New Zealand and brought up a sparkling ton. Notably, the track at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai was constantly favouring the spinners. In fact, some deliveries looked unplayable on this track. Nonetheless, Mayank embraced the challenge with brilliance and reached the three-figure mark.

This was definitely a much-indeed ton for the opener as he had lost his place in India’s first choice playing XI to Shubman Gill during the Australia tour earlier this year. As Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are not featuring in this series, Mayank got a chance to open and he didn’t miss out on making a mark.

The preceding Test match, which took place at the Green Park at Kanpur, wasn’t really fruitful for Agarwal as he recorded scores of 13 and 17 in the drawn affair. In fact, many even expected him to warm the benches in the Mumbai Test with regular skipper Virat Kohli making a comeback after a break.

Much needed century for Mayank Agarwal

However, the team management continued with Agarwal and the right-handed batter didn’t miss out on making a mark. Coming to the proceedings of his knock, Agarwal opened the innings alongside Shubman Gill after India opted to bat first. As the game was delayed due to rain, the track was damp and the ball was sticking onto the surface after landing.

Hence, batting wasn’t really easy. However, the two Indian openers embraced the challenge and added 80 runs for the first wicket. However, things changed after Gill perished for 44. Big guns like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli bagged ducks as the Kiwis were back in the contest in no time. Even Shreyas Iyer, who slammed a hundred in the last game, got out for 18.

However, Agarwal’s concentration remained intact as he went onto slam a sensational ton. Meanwhile, Agarwal still has some work to do if India are eyeing a solid first-innings total. It must be noted that two of the opener’s previous three Test tons were converted into double centuries. Hence, Agarwal won’t mind getting the landmark yet again.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitterverse reacted to Mayank Agarwal’s brilliant century: