Mayank Agarwal admitted it was hard to control his emotions as he marked his Test debut for India with 76 on day one of the third match against Australia.
The 27-year-old opened alongside Hanuma Vihari (8) at the MCG after Prithvi Shaw was forced to withdraw from the squad with an ankle injury and Murali Vijay and KL Rahul performed poorly in the second-Test loss in Perth.
Advertisement
Agarwal, who was selected for West Indies' tour to India but failed to make an appearance, finally made his mark in the longest format as India reached stumps at 215-2, dominating on a flat pitch.
Pat Cummins (2-40) made life difficult for Agarwal when bowling short and eventually dismissed the debutant when he gloved behind to wicketkeeper Tim Paine.
"It was a tremendous feeling to get the India Test cap. I had a lot of emotions when I got the cap. I will cherish it for the rest of my life," said Agarwal.
"It wasn't easy to get hold of those emotions and focus there, but it needed to be done. I just stuck to my plans and just kept telling myself, there is a plan that I have to go through and I am just going to stick to that.
"Even though it was overwhelming, it was good and I am happy with the way I started.
"It's a big stage and a big opportunity and I had the seniors walk up to me, telling me that the bigger the day, the bigger the opportunity to leave a mark.
"I am happy but obviously I would have liked more [runs]. I would definitely take 76 rather than something less than that. That said, I would have liked to go on and score more runs and stay not out at the end of the day."
Fifty on Test debut for @mayankcricket #TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/zpJijgerzT
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2018
Cheteshwar Pujara (68 not out) and Virat Kohli (47no) made the most of conditions that favoured batsmen, but Agarwal felt there was more play in the track later in the day.
"I won't complain about the pitch. I thought it was good to bat on. It did do a bit early on and it was slow, and as the day progressed and when we batted after lunch it got a little quicker," he said.
"Obviously, I didn't think too much about the wicket. I just wanted to stay blank and take it as it comes."
