Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed made a rocking comeback into the Test squad as the wicketkeeper batter scored three half-centuries and a century in the four innings he played. Sarfaraz’s century came in the fourth innings of the second Test, making him only the third Pakistan wicketkeeper to do so. Ahmed stood like a wall in between a win and New Zealand. His 123-run partnership with Saud Shakeel for the sixth wicket ensured Pakistan don’t lose the match as well as the series.
On his way to a fourth Test century, Sarfraz consumed 135 deliveries and stayed in the middle for another 41 deliveries to frustrate New Zealand. After sitting out for so long, the wicketkeeper batter made sure that he makes the most of the opportunity at his disposal. The 35-year-old registered scores of 86, 53, 78, and 116 in the four innings he played. While Ahmed fell short of a century on the first three occasions, he ensured to cross the landmark this time.
And his celebrations were a testimony to what this inning meant to him. While batting on 98, the batter pushed a wide delivery from Matt Henry past extra cover and ran with all his might with the intention to score two more runs. As soon as Ahmed realized he will get those two runs, he had his hands aloft in the air. It was all jubilation for the former Pakistan skipper as if he conquered something.
Sarfaraz was emotional and he let those emotions come out in the form of a flurry of punches he landed on the Karachi ground, with every punch saying “I am still worthy”. Ahmed then got up and waved his bat and accepted all the accolades from his teammates and fans. The wicketkeeper batter then kneeled down and kissed the ground to complete his celebration. Meanwhile, his family also got emotional watching Ahmed flying high.
Watch the video here:
Ahmed's celebration sent Indian fans down memory lane. Ahmed's landing punches on the ground were pretty much in resemblance to how Virat Kohli celebrated India's famous win over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022.
On the back of Sarfaraz’s heroics, Pakistan managed to save themselves from another humiliation in front of the home crowd. The two-match series ended in a draw.