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Young Indian batter, Sarfaraz Khan returned to the Indian Test team after missing the two-match Test series against Bangladesh last month. However, he had a dismal outing in the first innings as he got out for a three-ball duck, he went up to score his maiden Test hundred in the first Test against New Zealand in the first Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
His maiden hundred in the India whites came off 110 deliveries with his knock being laced with 13 fours and three sixes. While he took the field after Rohit Sharma’s dismissal on Day 3 of the ongoing Test, he ended the Day 3’s play at unbeaten 70 and brought up his maiden Test ton in the early hours of Day 4.
Sanjay Manjrekar heaps praise on Sarfaraz Khan; compares him with Javed Miandad
After making amends to his first innings, Sarfaraz added crucial runs, helping India cut down New Zealand’s lead. Seeing him play one of his best knocks, former India cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar also could not hold himself back and heaped praise on the Mumbai batter for taking the charge of the Indian innings.
Drawing comparison with legendary Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad, Manjrekar said, "He (Sarfaraz) reminds me of a Javed Miandad of the 1980s but this is a 2024 version of a Javed Miandad. Really impressed with the way he played. We know he plays spin well but I liked the way he played fast bowlers."
"And towards the end of the day's play when he was looking to play defensively and wanting bad light when there was actually bright light. I loved the way he was ducking to bouncers, just trying to play the day out so he has that game as well and that augurs well for India and Sarfaraz Khan for Australia because he has shown that element of batting as well,” Manjrekar added, speaking at the conclusion of Day 3 of ongoing Test.
Speaking of the first Test, at the time of writing, India added 344 runs at the loss of three wickets after 71 overs. India currently trail by 12 runs with Rishabh Pant (53*) and Sarfaraz Khan (125 off 154) and rain forcing the umpires to call early lunch on Day 4 of the first Test.
