IND vs AUS 3rd Test Lunch: Mayank & Vihari present record start on Boxing Day; IND 57/1

IND vs AUS 3rd Test Lunch: Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari lasted for 18.5 overs and set an unbelievable Indian record. No Indian opening pair has ever lasted this long in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia since 2011

After struggling with the lean form of their openers for the half of the Test series Down Under, India had a huge respite after debutant Mayank Agarwal got a chance to showcase his talent on the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Beginning the innings decently, the visitors posted 57 runs on the board at a loss of one wicket in the first session. At lunch, Mayank remained unbeaten on 34 and was batting alongside Cheteshwar Puajra (10*).

Fielding a set of new openers was no less than a risk for the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Somehow the shot hit the bull’s eye and the Indian camp had a sigh of relief. The duo of Mayank and Vihari looked much confident and balanced, unlike what was witnessed in Adelaide and Perth.

While Vihari had the ‘defence mode’ on, Mayank stole runs regularly. And guess what, they lasted for 18.5 overs and set an unbelievable Indian record. No Indian opening pair has ever lasted this long in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia since 2011.

They seemed to be in utter comfort and weren’t in hurry at all. Mayank scored his maiden international on the 4^th ball he faced but Vihari faced 25 deliveries before going off the mark.

Their determination looked like frustrating the Aussie quicks as they toiled so hard to scalp just one wicket in the morning session. After stitching a 40-run opening stand, Pat Cummins got the first breakthrough and knocked out Vihari off one of his short deliveries. A solid first-wicket stand ended with Vihari’s dismissal; he ended up scoring 8 off 66 balls.

Pujara joined Mayank at the crease and the duo took the Indian total beyond 50-run mark moments ahead of the lunch break.

Among the Aussie bowlers, Cummins turned out to be the most economical as he conceded just 4 runs off his 5 overs, scalping the only wicket for his team. 

Brief Scores:

India – 57/1 after 28 overs [Mayank 34* Pujara 10*; Cummins 1/4]