Day 1: Mayank Agarwal makes statement with hundred as India score 221/4 at stumps
Mumbai, Dec 3: Under pressure to prove his worth, Mayank Agarwal made the best statement possible with a superb hundred as India recovered from a sudden top-order collapse to reach 221 for 4 in two extended opening day sessions against New Zealand in the second Test here on Friday.
Agarwal (120 batting, 246 balls), who is all but certain to sit out once Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul come back during the next series (if South Africa then away, if West Indies then home), added to a happy headache for coach Rahul Dravid, on a day when vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane had to be "dropped" because of a hamstring niggle.
Worse, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli failed to trouble the scorers and it was a hundred that came under pressure with India being 80 for 3 and 160 for 4 at different stages of the game.
Had the Indian team management been forced to play Rahane, the axe was likely to fall on Agarwal and it's never a great feeling to go out there in such a situation.
He was jittery to begin with as a streaky boundary through slips came early on but once he marched down the track to loft Ajaz Patel (29-10-73-4) for a straight six, his nerves had all but vanished.
The boundaries --- 14 in all and four sixes, all off Patel showed his class as he got his fourth hundred in Tests.
In fact, Patel, who was by far the best New Zealand bowler in view, having reduced India from 80 for no loss to 80 for three, did look pedestrian in front of Agarwal at times.
When an airborne Agarwal punched the air after a square driven boundary off part-time seamer Daryl Mitchell, one could sense that pressure weighing a thousand tonne must have come off his chest.
Agarwal was the first choice opener during the England series but before the first game, he got hit on the head and KL Rahul coming in his place, grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
With Rohit also having his best overseas series as Test opener, Agarwal was confined to the reserves.
He could again be back in the reserves but he made a statement of intent with his strokeplay as he dominated the 80-run fourth wicket stand with Shreyas Iyer (18).
Along with another reserve player in Wriddhiman Saha (25 batting, 53 balls), Agarwal added another 61 runs before the close of play.
New Zealand had erred in not playing Neil Wagner on a track where there was a lot of bounce on offer.
If Agarwal showed discretion, same couldn't be said about Shubman Gill (44, 71 balls), who was dazzling till he was around in their 80-run opening stand before Patel snuffed him out.
Gill looked fluent before paying for his impetuosity which led to a mini collapse.
Mumbai-born left-arm spinner Patel also picked up Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in quick succession with both failing to trouble the scorers.
Patel became the second Mumbai-born cricketer after legendary England captain Douglas Jardine to play against India in his city of birth.
He altered the length cleverly and the extra bounce, which is always a speciality of Wankhede, helped him immensely.
He had Gill on the mat when he flighted one to entice him to come out and the ball tuned and jumped with keeper Tom Blundell making a hash of a stumping.
However, the very next ball saw him shorten the length as Gill tried jabbing at it and it turned enough to take the outside edge into Ross Taylor's palms.
Pujara's confidence has hit nadir after too many failures and he survived a DRS appeal from New Zealand before he jumped down the track to york himself. Patel, very wisely, fired one with an angle straight into his toes and what happened with Pujara often happens with out-of-form batters.
For skipper Kohli, it was a delivery that straightened after pitching as the Indian skipper tried to play a forward defensive stroke. Straight umpire Anil Chaudhary gave him out and Kohli immediately asked for a review.
The replay was inconclusive on whether it hit the bat first or pad and as per rule, TV umpire Virender Sharma went with his on-field colleague, leaving Kohli absolutely livid.
He had a word with leg umpire Nitin Menon and was seen expressing his displeasure.
The TV cameras then caught him standing in the dressing room balcony, visibly upset with the decision, which was a touch and go one.
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Bengal: Over 55 pc turnout till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of 2 assembly seats
Kolkata (PTI): Over 55 per cent turnout was recorded till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of two assembly constituencies in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, an official said.
Voting was underway more or less peacefully at 11 polling stations of Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency and four in Diamond Harbour, where the EC ordered repoll a day ago, following reports of electoral malpractices.
However, at booth number 179 at Chanda Primary School of Diamond Harbour seat, the Trinamool Congress alleged that a specially abled voter and his mother were harassed by central forces. The alleged incident sparked protests by party workers and locals.
The TMC claimed that the voter's mother, who had entered the booth to assist him, and her son were detained for a considerable time by central forces over alleged rule violations.
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"TMC leaders Manmohini Biswas and Pratik Ur Rahman reached the spot and led the protests, with residents terming the action unwarranted harassment. The matter has been taken care of by our officials there," an official of the poll body said.
Polling was otherwise peaceful across 15 booths in the area, he added.
Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, the official said, adding that till 1 pm, the turnout was 55.57 per cent.
Magrahat Paschim registered 56.33 per cent voter turnout, while in Diamond Harbour, it was 54.9 per cent, a poll official stated.
Voting in these two assembly constituencies was held in the second phase of the state elections on April 29.
The repoll order was based on reports received from returning officers and observers of the two constituencies and "material circumstances", the Election Commission official said.
In Magrahat Paschim, TMC's Md Samim Ahamed Molla is pitted against BJP nominee Goursundar Ghosh, while Abdul Majid Halder of the Congress and ISF candidate Abdul Aziz Al Hassan are also in the fray.
TMC candidate Panna Lal Halder is contesting against Dipak Kumar Halder of the BJP in the Diamond Harbour seat. Goutam Bhattacharya of the Congress and CPI(M)'s Samar Naiya are among other candidates.
The BJP had alleged rampant electoral malpractices in certain polling stations of both the assembly seats under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The EC had deputed its special observer, Subrata Gupta, to fact-check the allegations from the ground.
The poll panel will decide on repolling in the Falta assembly constituency on Saturday.
The West Bengal assembly elections were held in two phases -- April 23 and April 29 -- amid unprecedented security arrangements.
Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
