We are in great position considering the conditions, reckons Mayank Agarwal

India got off to a good start on the opening day of their final Test of the Caribbean tour, as they brushed aside the loss of a couple of early wickets to be in a commanding position at the end of the day. Prolific new-ball bowler Kemar Roach failed to do much damage even though the conditions were in his favour as the Men in Blue dealt well with the testing conditions.

"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," Mayank Agarwal said at the post match press conference, reported Cricbuzz.

Opposition skipper Jason Holder was the pick of the bowlers, picking up three crucial wickets. Having sent KL Rahul back to the pavilion for a disappointing score of 13, he also ended the 71 run partnership between Agarwal and Kohli, which had the potential to take the game away from them. He ended up picking the wickets of both the batsmen eventually. 

"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. 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 stated.

The match saw 26-year-old all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall make his test debut, as he became the heaviest ever player to play in the format. At 6’6”, the off-spinners kept asking questions to the Indian batsmen who are not used to facing such tall bowlers, before eventually picking up Cheteshwar Pujara’s wicket.

"Rakheem is very, very , 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. He definitely gets a lot more bounce compared to many other spinners. He just keeps hitting those lengths," Agarwal added.

Virat Kohli was the highest-scoring batsmen on the day, as he lent good support for Agarwal’s 55 before himself going on to score a crucial 76 runs. "I thought he just 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.

At stumps, India were 264/5, with Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari on the crease sharing an unbeaten partnership of 62 runs.

"The key now will just 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," Agarwal signed off.