Agarwal credits Dravid for instilling confidence in his batting

TIL Desk Sports/ Cheteshwar Pujara grabbed the headlines on Thursday with his third century of the series against Australia but Mayank Agarwal’s innings of 77 was another bright spot for India on a day when pretty much everything went right for the tourists.

India might be riding high at number one on the world Test rankings, and on the evidence of day one at the Sydney Cricket Ground look set to win a first Test series in Australia, but the opening partnership has been a problematic area.

For Agarwal too though, this was an additional confidence booster after his showing in the debut Test at Melbourne. He credited Rahul Dravid for instilling confidence in him. “Runs gives you lot of confidence. The more you play it gives you confidence and belief in your game. I think those runs have really helped me and have given me a lot of confidence. They have helped me stay within myself.

Agarwal, a mainstay of the Karnataka and India A sides, was called up for his debut after India lost the second Test in Perth and made the most of his chance with innings of 76 and 42 as the tourists crushed Australia in Melbourne.