The last hour of the second day’s play between the India-New Zealand Test had plenty of action, with Mayank Agarwal fielding on his knees against the spinners in Kanpur.
The hosts were seen trying all the tricks in the bag on a day where nothing went their way. After losing their last six wickets for 79 runs to get bowled out for 345, India were unable to make inroads on Friday with the ball, as New Zealand ended the second day at 129-0, with the openers Tom Latham and Will Young going through till stumps without facing any major threat from the India bowlers.
The home team tried everything they could to find a breakthrough, including asking Mayank Agarwal to field on his knees at gully. Mayank was first seen fielding down on his knees during the 47th over sent down by Axar Patel, which led to a discussion between umpire Nitin Menon and R Ashwin. However, the on-field umpires did not stop Mayank from fielding with that stance, and for the next few overs, the India opener was seen down on his knees as he looked to keep low in order to grab onto any half-chances that came his way.
The incident led to plenty of reactions, with India fans seeing the funny side, drawing comparisons with India’s situation in the game.
🎶Mayank’s on his knees and he’s begging…
He’s begging, begging wicket 🎶 pic.twitter.com/HSMlu3YMen— Rushil Patale (@rushilpatale) November 26, 2021
Mayank Agarwal on his knees at gully!
Where Marcus Trescothick leads…#INDvNZ🏏🇮🇳🇳🇿#WTC23 pic.twitter.com/Z15yhDlOC5
— Nakul Pande (@NakulMPande) November 26, 2021