Bengaluru: Amidst Border-Gavaskar series, discarded Test opener Mayank Agarwal made headlines with his double century for Karnataka in one of the semifinals of Ranji Trophy against Saurashtra at Chinnaswamy Stadium here.
Mayank, who has over 800 runs in this Ranji season, single-handedly bailed out hosts from troubled waters. He completed his double century in 369 balls.
Half of the Karnataka team was dismissed for 112 runs when he put on a 139 runs partnership with Srinivas Sharath (66) for the sixth wicket. He was run out for 249 runs, helping Kanataka post 407 runs in their first innings.
At the international level, Mayank had converted two of his four centuries into double centuries, with 243 runs being his best in Test cricket. He made his international debut in Test cricket in 2018 against Australia.
Mayank played his last Test match against Sri Lanka last March and was omitted for India's tour to Bangladesh and home series against Australia.
With this performance, he has staked a claim for Team India return as the national selectors are yet to announce a Test team for the last two Test matches of Border-Gavaskar series.
However, it might be difficult for the selectors to consider Mayank because Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are entering their services as openers against Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Test series.
Prithvi Shaw, who was sitting out even after playing an innings of 379 runs in Ranji, is also a tough contender. (UNI)