West Indies vs India: Mayank Agarwal found it tough while facing Rahkeem Cornwall

Rahkeem Cornwall became the heaviest international cricketer with a weight of 140 kgs after making his debut on Friday. The West Indies made a couple of changes in their playing eleven for the second Test at the Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica. Even as Cornwall replaced pacer Miguel Cummins, Jahamar Hamilton came in for an injured Shai Hope. On his maiden international appearance, the Antigua-born did reasonably well.

He opened his account with a good catch in the slip cordon off Jason Holder to get rid of Indian opener KL Rahul. The 26-year-old picked up his first wicket in the form of Cheteshwar Pujara, who could only manage six runs. Meanwhile, Mayank Agarwal also found it tough to face the tweaker.

Mayank said that the off-spinner was hitting the right channels on a consistent basis, making scoring difficult. The Karnataka batsman stated that the hulk-like figure generates more bounce compared to a lot of other spinners. Moreover, the Indian opener highlighted the vitality of his 69-run stand with Virat Kohli.

He just keeps hitting those lengths, says Agarwal

“Rahkeem is very, very [consistent], he forms good clusters and he keeps bowling those areas, keeps bowling those areas. I thought it wasn’t very easy to score off him. We took our time and it was very important for Virat and me to actually get a partnership going and it was important that one of us went on to score big,” Agarwal was quoted as saying at the end of the day’s play.

“He definitely gets a lot more bounce compared to many other spinners. He just keeps hitting those lengths,” he added. Agarwal showed grit and determination during his stay in the middle. He played until the 41st over and notched 55 runs off 127 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries.

In his very first outing for the national team, Cornwall was the most trusted bowler, at least to start with. He bowled 27 overs, the most by a West Indies bowler on Day One. He conceded 69 runs and didn’t allow the opposition batsmen to dictate terms to him. With the ball turning, Cornwall will have a huge role to play as the game progresses.

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