'Disappointed at throwing my wicket away' – Mayank Agarwal

Agarwal has taken to Test cricket like fish to water. His maiden Test innings saw him hit 76 before he followed it up with 42 the in second innings in Melbourne, playing a crucial role in India's 137-run win.

Over to Sydney for the New Year's Test, Agarwal was at it again. Two things changed from Melbourne for him. His opening partner at the MCG, Hanuma Vihari, was pushed back to the middle order, and Agarwal lost his opening partner (KL Rahul) cheaply.

Despite reaching another-half century, he was unable to find a way towards three figures. Agarwal went after Australia's off-spinner Nathan Lyon and hit him for a six initially, but perished trying to hit another one, a move he regretted at the end of the day.

"I am quite disappointed at missing out on a big score. Really disappointed that I threw my wicket," Agarwal said after play, with India finishing on 303/4. "But that's what I was looking to do. I was looking to dominate him (Lyon). It didn't work out."

But while he was there, and that too with a partner he has enjoyed batting with in the two Tests he has played, he looked good. The duo of Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara added 116 runs for the second wicket in Sydney, after having put up 83 in the first innings in Melbourne.

Agarwal enjoyed batting with his senior partner and it was a "learning experience" for him in the middle. "It is great to watch [him] from the other end. The way he grinds the bowlers – he has got a pattern to it," Agarwal said of Pujara.

"He understands his strengths and he sticks to that. He knows he is very tight with his defence and he looks to do that and waits for the bad ball to come."

Agarwal added that proper communication while batting together helped the duo put up a second 50-plus stand in the series. "As far as [the] partnership is concerned, he (Pujara) keeps talking," Agarwal said.

"He says 'these are the things we need to look at' and with his experience he tells me 'this is what they're looking to do'. We keep communicating a lot while we are batting out there. It really helps."

Good as the partnership was, it came in for some testing at the hands of the Australian fast bowlers, who came up with a short-ball strategy in the first session. Pujara was hit on the back of the head by a Cummins bouncer and another ripping delivery accounted for Ajinkya Rahane's wicket later in the day.

Agarwal said the plan against short balls was to play close to the body and not worry about the scoring rate. "The Aussies came really hard. They bowled quick bouncers and were really sharp there, and they were consistent They gave absolutely nothing away," he said.

"The plan was to build a small partnership after each wicket. So we said that let's try and play close to the body and not give them wickets. Even if we're not getting too many runs quickly, it's alright. Let's try and knit a partnership and then take it from there on."

India did counter the plan to some extent and finished the day in a strong position. "We are very happy," Agarwal said of the position his team is at.

"We would have ideally liked to be three down but with 300/4 on the first day after choosing to bat, I think we are in a great position."