ICC World Test Championship: Mayank Agarwal discloses how Virat Kohli motivated him to score double hundreds

What's the story?

Indian opener, Mayank Agarwal has opened up on how the team's captain Virat Kohli motivated him to convert his hundred into daddy hundreds during the Indian team's 2019-20 home season.

The background

On the back of some decent performances in overseas conditions, Mayank Agarwal got a chance to open the innings for the Indian Test team during the ICC World Test Championship series against South Africa and Bangladesh. The right-handed batsman from Karnataka grabbed the golden opportunity by both hands as he registered two double hundreds in the space of three games.

His big scores helped the Indian team whitewash their opponents and solidify their number 1 position on the ICC World Test Championship points table.

The heart of the matter

Mayank Agarwal scored 215 vs South Africa before decimating Bangladesh with a knock of 243 runs

Talking to ESPNCricinfo on Friday (14th February), Agarwal recalled how Kohli egged him to record mammoth scores for the team. He said that Kohli egged him in Vizag against the Proteas:

“Against South Africa when I got a 150, Virat [Kohli] was there at the other end and he said 'Nothing short of a 200 will do. You’re batting well, make sure to not just score for yourself but for your team. The team needs to get a bigger score and it’s important for you to be there to help us get that score at a faster pace'.”

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The 28-year-old further described the captain's words charged him up to stay in the middle and keep on scoring the runs even against Bangladesh.The Kings XI Punjab player continued:

“So when I got to 150, it was a reminder from his side that we have spoken about these things. Now you’ve got to go out there and execute because you’re batting well, you’re in the middle, the team’s in a good position and the team requires you to take us through to more."

What's next?

Mayank Agarwal recently made his ODI debut against New Zealand however, he did not have an eventful series. The southpaw will look to make his mark when he dons the numbered whites against the Kiwis in the approaching Test series.

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