“Not Allowed To Express My Opinion”: Mayank Agarwal On LBW Dismissal In Centurion Test

India opener Mayank Agarwal looked a bit perplexed when replays showed three reds – pitching in line, impact in line and wickets hitting – and the third umpire advised the on-field umpire to reverse his original decision of ‘not out’ on Day 1 of the first Test match against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. While there was little question about the where the ball pitched and the impact, Agarwal (the on-field umpire and a lot of Indian fans) perhaps had his doubts about the bounce of the ball but replays showed otherwise and the right-hander had to take the long walk back for 60. After the end of the first day’s play Agarwal said he is “not allowed” to delve deep into it.

“Well, to be honest I am not allowed to express my opinion on it and I will leave it at that unless I want to get in the bad books and get my money docked,” Agarwal said in the post-match virtual press conference as quoted by news agency ANI.

It happened in the 41st over of the Indian innings in the second session on Sunday when South Africa seamer Lungi Ngidi got one to jag back in from length and Agarwal, who had been simply superb till then, went for the flick shot but ended up missing it. The ball rapped onto his pads and the South African players went up in a huge appeal. The umpire shook his head but Dean Elgar went for a review, which proved to be the right call.

Agarwal put an important 117-run stand with KL Rahul to give India a great start after captain Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first.

“To be honest the plan was to be very disciplined and try to play the balls that were close to the stumps. The plan was to leave as many balls as possible and I am glad that we could do just that. To be honest, being placed at 272/3 at the end is credit to the batting unit. We really applied ourselves really well, the talk has been that players who get set have to go on. Credit to KL Rahul for the way he has played and he has made sure that he has been part of some good partnerships,” Agarwal said.

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At stumps on Day 1, India had reached 272 for 3 riding on a superb hundred by KL Rahul, who was unbeaten on 122 with Ajinkya Rahane (40) for company.

The start of the second day’s play was delayed to due to rain and wet outfield.