"He hasn't scored a Test hundred since February 2019" - Aakash Chopra picks 3 Indian players who need to score runs on Day 4 of 1st India vs New Zealand Test

Aakash Chopra feels that Day 4 of the first India-New Zealand Test in Kanpur is crucial for Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane.

India went to stumps today at 14-1, with a lead of 63 runs. Spinners Axar Patel (5/62) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/82) led the charge with the ball, reducing New Zealand from 151-0 to 296-10. Agarwal opened alongside Shubman Gill with 5 overs left in the day. The latter was clean-bowled by Kyle Jamieson for 1(3).

Aakash Chopra said Agarwal's runs will increase his stocks as an opener, while Pujara, who replaced Gill at the crease, has some "runs due" as well. The former opener pointed to how the No.3 batter hasn't scored a hundred since 2019. He added that skipper Rahane will be under the pump for the same reason.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said:

"[Tomorrow is important for] Mayank Agarwal because he's at No.4 in the pecking order of our openers. His runs are very important because Shubman has already scored in the first innings. It's also important for Cheteshwar Pujara because he hasn't scored a Test hundred since February 2019. Now that's a long time. We talk about Virat Kohli not scoring one since November 2019 but he hasn't scored since February. His runs are due and Ajinkya Rahane will be under a lot of pressure as well."

Aakash Chopra further said he would like to see India bat aggressively, reach a total of 275 by Tea and declare. He asserted:

I am expecting Indian batters to come with an aggressive mindset... Bat for 30-45 minutes after Tea, declare, reach 275 and [bowl on the] last day and a few more overs from Day 4."

While Agarwal is making his comeback after missing the action for 10 months, Rahane and Pujara have been struggling for runs for quite some time now.

Rahane is averaging 20.35 with the bat in 2021 after 12 Tests, while Pujara is better at 30.85 after equal games. The former is under even more pressure because of the development of replacements like Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, and even Gill, who is being touted as a good middle-order option.

"This picture will be a superhit" - Aakash Chopra on KS Bharat

Aakash Chopra also talked about KS Bharat, who kept wickets on Saturday as an injury substitute for Wriddhiman Saha. The 28-year-old Andhra cricketer caught a couple of difficult chances and affected a brilliant stumping as well. Aakash Chopra said he might be chosen ahead of Saha for the upcoming South Africa tour. He remarked:

"Srikar Bharat - for him you have only seen the first trailer, this picture will be a superhit. When the South African tour comes up - if it happens because I know there are the latest developments every single day with the new Covid strain - I think Srikar Bharat will be the second wicketkeeper and not Saha. There's a possibility. Saha was injured, had an issue with his neck where Srikar Bharat got a chance to keep wickets and he did well."

The Test will resume at 9:30 AM IST tomorrow. The tour of South Africa is slated to begin on December 17, contingent on the developments of the new Covid variant.