FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Fifth Test - India v England - Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala, India - March 8, 2024 India's Sarfaraz Khan in action REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Sarfaraz Khan was a picture of gloom after his first innings duck against New Zealand in a test he played in only due to Shubman Gill's stiff neck, but the burly batsman redeemed himself with a maiden century in the second innings on Saturday.
Still only four games into a promising test career, the 26-year-old made a stunning 150 on day four of the rain-interrupted series opener and stitched a 177-run fourth-wicket stand with Rishabh Pant (99) to raise India's hopes of a comeback win.
"It felt great. I was happy with my first century. It was a childhood dream of mine to play for India and score a century," Sarfaraz told reporters.
A run machine in domestic cricket who scored an unbeaten 222 in a first-class match for Mumbai this month, Sarfaraz said that he enjoyed batting with an attacking partner like Pant as the duo put New Zealand to the sword with unconventional shots.
"The runs start flowing from both ends. I was trying to give Pant the strike while the left-arm spinners were bowling since I knew he would be hitting them out, creating pressure from both ends for the bowlers as I was countering the pace attack well.
"We were simply planning on playing attacking cricket. In our Duleep Trophy game a while ago, we had a similar scenario where we had to counter-attack in the second innings. That's what the thought process was."
Often trolled online for his big build, Sarfaraz had no trouble scampering for singles during the 291 minutes that he spent in the middle, although there was a moment when his exuberance nearly got Pant run out.
Having called for two runs after momentarily forgetting that Pant had suffered a knee injury two days earlier, Sarfaraz jumped up and down and screamed to stop his batting partner from setting off.
"There was a discussion that we need to run carefully," Sarfaraz added.
"After playing a late cut, I called for two but realised that he has a knee injury and wouldn't be able to run fast. I immediately said 'no' and raised my hand after the first run, but he kept running without watching me. That's what caused the misjudgement."
India collapsed after the duo departed, finishing with 462 to set New Zealand a victory target of 107, but Sarfaraz said it would not be easy to bat on the final morning.
"I don't think the game is out of our hands yet," he said. "The ball is still cutting in and out. If we manage to get two to three of their wickets early on, they will suffer the same fate as us."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
