Mumbai, Dec 10 (PTI) Mayank Agarwal's stellar performance in the second Test against New Zealand was a reflection of his self belief, feels former batting great and soon-to-be National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman.

Agarwal, who played the series in the absence of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, failed in Kanpur but regained his form to score 150 and 62 in the second Test to win the 'Player of the Match' award.

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"He has given a lot of importance to self-belief and it was great to see him coming in and expressing himself. I think he played with a mindset, which is similar to what he used to play in first-class and international cricket," Laxman said on StarSports' show 'Follow The Blues'.

Laxman found his batting against spinners outstanding.

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"He hit some outstanding shots, especially against Ajaz Patel. His shot over long off and over extra cover for sixes are probably the best shots of his innings."

The Hyderabadi also spoke about the technical adjustments done by Agarwal during the Mumbai game where he trusted the game plan against Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee.

"Because in Kanpur in both the innings he got out at balls that were pitching on and outside the off stump, whereas in Mumbai, especially in the first innings, he was ready to leave a lot of deliveries.

"He was keeping his front foot in the pitch of the ball and he was playing with a lot of discipline. But when the spinners came in he was using his feet a lot," said Laxman.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)