Mumbai: Indian opener Mayank Agarwal became the fourth Indian batsman to convert a maiden Test century into a double ton, scoring a fantastic 215 in the ongoing Test against South Africa.
Dilip Sardesai, Vinod Kambli, and Karun Nair are the other three. This was the first double century for an Indian opener in Test cricket since Virender Sehwag’s 293 against Sri Lanka in 2009/10.
28-year-old Mayank has now become an overnight star. He opened with Rohit Sharma in the ongoing Test against South Africa and the duo put on a massive 317 run partnership.
The right-handed batsman got himself noticed after scoring over 2000 runs in domestic circuit across all formats.
But you will be shocked to know that the former Australian cricketer-turned-broadcaster Kerry O’Keeffe once mocked Mayank. During day one of the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, O’Keefe took a jibe at Mayank’s highest score of 304* in first class cricket in India.
Commentating for Fox Sports, O’Keeffe said that Mayank’s triple century came against “canteen staff and waiters.”
Later on during the 65th over of the match, O’Keeffe apologized for his comments while on commentary.
Notably, November 2017, he scored his maiden triple century in first-class cricket, when he made 304* batting for Karnataka against Maharashtra in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy. It was the 50th triple century scored in first-class cricket in India.
During the same month, he scored 1,000 runs in first-class cricket. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, finishing the tournament with 1,160 runs. He made his international debut for Team India 26 December 2018 against Australia.
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PNN/Agencies