India opening batsman Mayank Agarwal's coach Irfan Sait said that he was heartbroken that his ward Mayank missed out on a well-deserved ton for the second time in the ongoing Test series in Australia, but is happy that he is cementing his place in the Indian squad.
"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 told PTI here.
After scoring a brilliant knock of 77 off 122 balls, rookie Mayank Agarwal is now the only third Indian opener to score two fifties in the first three career innings at the opening position after veteran Sunil Gavaskar and teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw.
The 27-year-old continued his brilliant form during Day 1 of the 4th Test encounter between India and Australia in Sydney on Thursday. Thanks to his innings, Agarwal has become the eighth Indian opener to have scored at least two 50+ scores in Australia.
The Bengaluru lad was out after scoring 77 runs as he tried to hit one six too many off Nathan Lyon to be holed out to Mitchell Starc at long on.
"Once again making an ambitious attempt to repeat a six! I hope he learns from this and eschew such shots in the innings to follow. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching every single ball he played," Sait said.
Agarwal had scored 76 runs in first innings of his debut Test in Melbourne, which helped the Indian middle order to consolidate and put up a huge total of 443 for seven.
In the second innings, he top-scored with 42 runs, which proved crucial in India clinching the Melbourne Test.