Sarfaraz Khan lived up to the hype on his India debut after announcing his arrival with a brisk half-century on the opening day of the third Test against England in Rajkot on Thursday. With nine fours and a six, the youngster struck 66-ball 62.
It was an unfortunate mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja that cut short the entertaining knock from Sarfaraz with the former looking dejected himself.
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Sarfaraz was handed his India cap by the legendary Anil Kumble who incidentally was also run out on debut.
While analysing Sarfaraz’s innings, Kumble quipped that he may had passed on his ‘bad luck’ whole handing out the Test cap.
“Yes, Sarfaraz was dominating the partnership but Jadeja, I thought, got into a shell and that sometimes creates a mindset where you are not clear about the decision-making. Maybe, that was one of the reasons and possibility I passed on my bad luck of my debut run-out to Sarfaraz!,” Kumble said on JioCinema.
Sarfaraz made his entry after the dismissal of India captain Rohit Sharma who produced an impressive century that was key to his team’s revival after they found themselves struggling at 33/3 in the morning session.
Rohit and Jadeja combined for a 204-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Praising Sarfaraz for the manner in which he went about his business, Kumble was quite impressed with his ‘free-flowing innings’.
“It never looked like it was his (Sarfaraz’s) first Test innings,” Kumble said. “We all know about the talent he has and we have seen him dominate spin at the domestic level. But at the Test level, you need a completely different mindset and to have that approach and play that free-flowing innings was brilliant.”
England tested Sarfaraz initially with short deliveries but the 26-year-old didn’t take the bait and bided his time before exploding against the spinners.
“He was certainly tested by Mark Wood, but coming in and dominating the spinners was outstanding. And the way he batted – more than a run a ball with the kind of shot selection, he was very assured in his approach. After he took the bowlers on, the next ball was played on the backfoot just to manoeuvre that single and get off strike. Brilliant batting from Sarfaraz,” Kumble said.
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