Mayank Agarwal’s coach wanted him to play a Virender Sehwag-like innings in his debut Test on Boxing Day at MCG. Not a bad way to pump up an opener against three top-class Australian pacers.To expect Agarwal to play like Sehwag in his first Test and that too overseas is a bit too much, but the champion domestic cricketer will have pleased the selection committee chairman MSK Prasad and the team management with his 76.

While the Indians have a reason to gloat over the application of their batsman on a greenish surface, the Australians are sore with the pitch which in the last couple of years did not play like a Test match track. Lest the fans forget, the contribution of the other opener Hanuma Vihari, who was forced to go up the order and stayed with Agarwal for a ball shy of 19 overs to soothe the nerves of the dressing room, even if their partnership was worth just 40 runs. Seeing the two openers get behind the ball, the Australians knew they had lost the opportunity of batting first on a featherbed of a wicket as Virat Kohli won the toss that mattered in the crucial penultimate Test.

For all their determination in st­anding up to the Australian pacers, Agarwal and Vihari had things under control and to compare their start with Murali Vijay and Lokesh Rahul on the difficult Adelaide and Perth pitches would be unfair.Yet, both wickets fell to vicious bouncers by Pat Cummins, Vihari fending helplessly and Agarwal gl­oving it to wicketkeeper Tim Paine.

If only Paine had clung on to a diffi­cult diving catch in the closing st­a­ges, Kohli would have been back, exposing Ajinkya Rahane or the ni­ghtwatchman to the fury of the second new ball for a couple of overs. It was one of those slashes Kohli co­mes up with, a typical one-day stroke. A score of 215 for two on the first day should give the Indians confidence to build a solid first-innings score upwards of 400, but at the same time it gives the Australians hope that they are in with a chance if they can get a couple of quick wickets on Thursday.

It is unthinkable to see the slip cordon being scattered earlier than expected, not because the batsmen were getting on top of the attack or runs were flowing at a fast clip. Seeing the lifelessness of the pitch, not surprisingly, Nathan Lyon was br­ought on in the eighth over, a rarity in Australia. Cheteshwar Pujara is the man for all seasons and reaso­ns. The tenacious Saurashtrian he­ld one end up to let Agarwal and Ko­­­­hli bat with less pressure and without taking chances to push the score.

Agarwal looked good to get a hundred when he got into his 70s and even smote Lyon for a well-placed six besides his nine fours. Already there is a talk that Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw will be the new opening pair for some years to come with Vihari going back to his middle-order position and improving on his off-spin to seal the all-rounder’s spot. Score-wise, the day may appear a bit boring but it was not so. It was even entertaining to see India preserve wickets with a plan. Getting another 200-odd on this pitch should not be all that difficult if Kohli and Pujara can carry on for another session.

Only a big first-innings total can enable India to apply pressure on the Australians, failing which th­ere is little chance of the visitors winning the Test even on a last day pitch. The iconic MCG pitch has be­en under the microscope of the ICC and if it continues to play the way it did the entire Test, it could be in trouble over its quality. They are worried about the extreme penalty of suspension from holding a Test.

The Indians must force a victory here to make sure they at least don’t lose the series. A draw can make things difficult in spin-friendly Sydney where the combination can become tricky.(The writer is a veteran commentator and views expressed are personal. He can be reached at sveturi@gmail.com)