Sarfaraz Khan celebrated his maiden Test century for India with a brisk 100 off 110 balls, becoming the seventh Indian No. 4 to achieve this feat, while showcasing his aggressive batting style at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
New Delhi: Sarfaraz Khan achieved his maiden Test century for India while batting at No. 4 in the first Test match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Building a solid response alongside Virat Kohli on Day 3, Sarfaraz Khan quickly reached 70 runs, helping India tackle the daunting 356-run target set by New Zealand in the second innings.
Despite Kohli’s dismissal on the final ball of the previous day, the 26-year-old Sarfaraz Khan maintained his aggressive approach alongside Rishabh Pant, reaching his maiden Test century in just 110 balls on the morning of Day 4.
CELEBRATION BY SARFARAZ KHAN WHEN HE COMPLETED THE MAIDEN HUNDRED 🥶 pic.twitter.com/PsbxlNya0t
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 19, 2024
Remarkably, only two of Sarfaraz Khan’s 100 runs came in the gap between wide long-off and long-on, highlighting his aggressive batting style. The Mumbaikar’s century featured an impressive tally of 13 fours and three sixes.
Sarfaraz Khan becomes only the seventh Indian No. 4 to score a Test century this century, joining an illustrious group that includes Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, and Ajinkya Rahane.
Stepping in for an injured Shubman Gill in the playing XI, Sarfaraz Khan was dismissed for a duck in the first innings as India recorded their lowest Test total at home, collapsing for just 46 runs. With Sarfaraz batting at No. 4, senior batter Virat Kohli also shifted to No. 3 for the first time in eight years.
This century was Sarfaraz Khan’s 16th in First-Class cricket and his second consecutive ton. After being overlooked for the recent Test series against Bangladesh, Sarfaraz made a strong statement by scoring a double hundred for Mumbai in the Irani Cup match against the Rest of India in Lucknow earlier this month, becoming the first Mumbai batter to achieve this milestone in the Irani Cup.
Interestingly, Sarfaraz Khan has recorded more First-Class centuries (16) than fifties (14) in his career. His impressive First-Class average stands at 69.56, the highest among all active cricketers, across 52 matches.
In his Test debut against England in Rajkot, Sarfaraz Khan made an impressive impact by scoring twin half-centuries. He continued his form with another fifty in the Dharamsala Test, contributing to India’s 3-1 series victory.
Renowned for his ability to score big ‘daddy’ hundreds, Sarfaraz Khan has converted 10 of his 15 centuries into scores exceeding 150, with four of those being double hundreds. His highest score stands at an impressive 301 not out, achieved for Mumbai in a 2019-20 Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh, his former team.
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