Mayank Agarwal edged a couple to the boundary in the 38th over, off Kemar Roach, the second four getting him to his third Test fifty, in 117 balls. The edges and the eventual cut to slip that ended his innings were proof of the difficult batting conditions against West Indies at Sabina Park.
“[Conditions were] challenging. I thought the first session – the ball was doing a bit. Kemar Roach and Holder bowled great areas. It wasn’t easy – there was a lot of moisture and the ball was doing a bit,” Agarwal said at the press conference.
He also praised Holder, who ended the day with three wickets – those of himself, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
“I think Holder is bowling great areas, he is not giving you an inch. He is there pegging in those areas, pegging on length and short of length. And you know he doesn’t give free deliveries for you to score off of,” he said.
“So, the pressure is always there even if you defend him off – the first spell he bowled six-seven overs in that he’s given three or four maidens, so as a batsman you know you’re not getting much out of him.”
Agarwal faced some tough delivers from the offspinning debutant, the 6’5″ Rahkeem Cornwall, who claimed Cheteshwar Pujara as his maiden Test wicket.
“Rakheem is very, very [consistent], he forms good clusters and he keeps bowling those areas, keeps bowling those areas. I thought it wasn’t very easy to score off him. We took our time and it was very important for Virat and me to actually get a partnership going and it was important that one of us went on to score big,” Agarwal said.
“He definitely gets a lot more bounce compared to many other spinners. He just keeps hitting those lengths.”
Speaking of his partnership with Kohli, Agarwal said the captain batted beautifully to “negate the time before lunch and then to come out after lunch with that kind of positivity was amazing – he gets a lot of intensity when he comes to bat,” he said.
The conditions got steadily better as the day progressed and the sun beat down, Agarwal said.
“I can say it got a little better to bat on after the first session – the wicket got a lot harder as the sun beat down – the wicket lost some of its moisture. It just kept getting a little better to bat on, but I think credit must be given to the West Indian bowlers, especially Roach and Holder – they kept coming and kept coming and kept bowling tight lines,” he said.
India ended the day at 264 for 5 with two in-form batsmen, Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant still unbeaten. Agarwal said he was pleased with the team’s performance and the goal now would be to “pile on as many runs as possible.”
“We are in a great position. To have just lost five wickets on a track like that was a good effort from our side.”