At the end of the second day’s play in Bengaluru, India A reached 134 for two with KL Rahul (23 off 80 balls) and Riyan Parag (27 off 49 balls) walking back undefeated.
Ahead of the start of IPL 2022 season, Agarwal was appointed as the captain of Punjab Kings as KL Rahul took the same role with debutants Lucknow Super Giants.
Agarwal, 31, had initially been left out of India's squad for the Edgbaston Test named in May this year. But a right groin injury to K.L Rahul, which ruled him out of the home T20I series against South Africa in June and Sharma's availability in doubt due to testing positive for Covid-19 means that Agarwal is now on his way to Birmingham to join the Test squad.
Punjab Kings kept their tournament hopes alive by defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 54 runs on Friday after scoring a mammoth 209/9, thanks to half centuries from opener Bairstow (66 off 29 balls) and Liam Livingstone (70 off 66 balls).
"I thought in the last game against Gujarat, we gave wickets to Rashid when it wasn't required. But this time we were a lot more aware and careful. We made sure to not give wickets to their main bowlers and if it's your day, you have to take the team through. It can get hard,"
Post the recent update Smith now has as many as 911 points against his name, in comparison to Virat Kohli who has 906 points.
India still trail New Zealand by 39 runs with six wickets in hand.
The right-arm Kiwi pacer dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara (11) – his first Test wicket, before claiming the wicket of India skipper Virat Kohli (2) and Hanuma Vihari (7).
Agarwal (34) was the only batsman, apart from vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (38 batting), who was able to counter the New Zealand seamers.
The southpaw feels that even though Mayank isn't as destructive as Virender Sehwag or David Warner, the 29-year-old has clarity of mind.
