Mayank Agarwal Surpasses Steve Smith to Post Highest Test Score of the Year As India Dominates South Africa in 1st Test on Day 2

Visakhapatnam, October 3: Mayank Agarwal scored his first Test hundred and went on to convert that into a double ton as India dominated Day 2 of the first Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. Mayank first put up a mammoth 317-run opening stand with Rohit Sharma before managing 50-plus stands with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. India vs South Africa 1st Test 2019, Day 2 Match Report: Mayank Agarwal Runs SA Dry With Maiden Double Hundred Before R Ashwin Leaves Visitors Staring at Defeat.

His individual score of 215 is thus far the highest score by any batsman in Test cricket this year, surpassing Australian star Steve Smith's 211 which he scored in the fourth Ashes Test in Manchester in September. The other players who have managed double hundreds this year are Jason Holder (202 n.o.), Kane Williamson (200 n.o.) and Ross Taylor (200).

Mayank is only the fourth Indian batsman after Dilip Sardesai, Vinod Kambli and Karun Nair to have managed to convert his maiden century into a double-century. He may have surpassed Smith's highest score but it will take some remarkable consistency for him, or anyone among the Indian players to topple the former Australian captain from the top of the list of highest run scorers in the longest format of the game this year. India vs South Africa 1st Test 2019: Hosts Pile Up 502 Runs in First Innings Before Calling a Declaration on Day 2.

Mayank with 372 runs in four innings at a remarkable average of 62 is 12th on the list. Smith, on the other hand, has played the same number of innings as Agarwal but with 774 runs at a mind numbing average of 110.57, is a fair distance away from the rest of the chasing pack.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2019 07:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).