India opener Mayank Agarwal was livid with himself after squandering a golden opportunity to score a maiden Test hundred on day one of the fourth Test but hopes to quickly learn from mistakes in his fledgling career.
"I am quite disappointed for missing out on a big score. With that said, it's a learning curve. If I don't make this mistake again, it will be a good learning. I was looking to dominate Nathan Lyon and it didn't work out. Really disappointed that I threw my wicket," he said on Thursday.
India lost KL Rahul early and the duo faced a testing spell of short bowling from the Australian pacers. Agarwal said that their focus was on building partnerships, and he was talking with Pujara for the same throughout.
"The plan was always to get a small partnership after each wicket and that's the same thing we spoke about. We said to each other that let's try to play close to the body and not give them wickets. Even if we are not getting too many runs too quick, it's alright; let's try get a partnership and take it from there onwards," he added.
Talking about the course of this Test on the second day, Agarwal said, "We are very happy, we would have liked to be just three down but that said 303-4 on first day after choosing to bat, I think we are in a great position."
‘heartbroken’
Mayank Agarwal's coach Irfan Sait is heart broken that his ward missed out on a century for the second time in the ongoing Test series, but is happy that he is cementing his place in the team. "I am heartbroken at his dismissal, but I am happy Mayank has almost cemented his place in the team. Look at his consistency. He has now two half centuries and a good 42 in the three innings he had played so far Down Under," Sait said.
Asked if Agarwal would make way for Prithvi Shaw once the Mumbai youngster returns from injury, Sait said openers who fail to perform should be dropped.