Mayank Agarwal heap praises for debutant Rahkeem Cornwall
Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal heaped praise for Rahkeem Cornwall after day one of the second Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica. Mayank Agarwal who cumulated crucial 55 after the men in blue were sent to bat.
India concluded the day at 264/5 with Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant propelling with their 62 runs stand for the sixth wicket. Asserting that India are in a good position, Mayank Agarwal stated that it was hard to score against Jason Holder and Roach at the begining and became harder against debutant Rahkeem Cornwall.
“We are in a great position. To have just lost five wickets on a track like that was a good effort from our side West Indies reduced,” Agarwal said at the end of the day’s play. . “I thought the first session - the ball was doing a bit. Kemar Roach and Holder bowled great areas. It wasn’t easy - there was a lot of moisture and the ball was doing a bit.”
Team India were reduced to 46/2 after KL Rahul was dismissed by Jason Holder in the seventh over and Cheteshwar Pujara bacame the maiden Test wicket of Rahkeem Cornwall.“I think Holder is bowling great areas, he is not giving you an inch. He is there pegging in those areas, pegging on length and short of length. And you know he doesn’t give free deliveries for you to score off of,” Agarwal said.
After a tricky opening spell by the West Indies pacers, it was Rakheem Cornwall, the heaviest cricketer to play red ball cricket, who made it extremely hard for the Indian batsmen.
Cornwall bowled 27 overs of off spin on his first tryst with Test cricket and gave away only 69 runs. “Rakheem 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 pointed out.
Mayank Agarwal also pointed out what made Cornwall so difficult to play.“He definitely gets a lot more bounce compared to many other spinners. He just keeps hitting those lengths.”
Indian skipper Virat Kohli amassed 69 runs for the third wicket.“I can say it got a little better to bat on after the first session, the wicket got a lot harder as the sun beat down, the wicket lost some of its moisture. It just kept getting a little better to bat on, but I think credit must be given to the West Indian bowlers, especially Roach and Holder - they kept coming and kept coming and kept bowling tight lines,” Agarwal said.
