Sarfaraz Khan Joins Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli After His First Test Century vs New Zealand

By Mohd Faisal Hakak On Oct 20, 2024

India is currently facing New Zealand in the opening Test of their three-match series at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. After a disappointing first innings, where they were bowled out for just 46 runs, the Indian batters showed resilience in their second innings.

Leading the charge was Sarfaraz Khan, who stepped into the playing XI due to an injury to Shubman Gill. In the first inning, Khan was dismissed for a duck, but he made a spectacular comeback in the second innings, scoring a century off just 110 balls at an impressive strike rate of over 90. With this achievement, he became the ninth Indian cricketer to score a century in the second innings after being dismissed for a zero in the first innings of a Test match.

This elite list includes cricket legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virat Kohli, showcasing Sarfaraz’s remarkable talent and resilience under pressure.

The Mumbai man managed to score 150 to help his side post a competitive score of 462 in the second innings, setting the Kiwis a target of 107 to chase. While it may not be enough to win the match, this performance will certainly help him to make his case for becoming a regular in India’s red-ball cricket squad.

A moment Sarfaraz Khan will remember forever! ☺️

He is jubilant, Rishabh Pant applauds & the dressing room on its feet! 👏 👏

Live ▶️ https://t.co/8qhNBrrtDF #TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/pwt12jHfND

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 19, 2024

After 2nd day’s play, Indian captain Rohit Sharma discussed the team’s strategy regarding Sarfaraz Khan’s batting position. He emphasized that they intended to play Sarfaraz at his natural spots in the middle or lower-middle order, specifically at numbers 4, 5, or 6. Despite suggestions to elevate KL Rahul to number 3 due to Shubman Gill’s absence, Rohit clarified that they preferred not to disrupt the batting order for Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Consequently, Virat Kohli was promoted to the number 3 position.

“We wanted to give Sarfraz the position that he usually bats four, five, six maybe. But we didn’t want to change Rishabh and KL (Rahul). Hence, Sarfraz went at four, and Virat batted at three,” Sharma said.

Here are the players to score a duck in the first innings and a century in the second innings of the same Test Match

Madhav Apte – 0 and 163 (Vs West Indies, 1953)

Sunil Gavaskar- 0 and 118 (vs Australia, 1977)

Dilip Vengsarkar- 0 and 103 (vs England, 1979)

Mohammad Azharuddin- 0 and 109 (vs Pakistan, 1989)

Sachin Tendulkar- 0 and 136 (Vs Pakistan, 1999)

Shikhar Dhawan- 0 and 114 (Vs New Zealand, 2014)

Virat Kohli- 0 and 104 (vs Sri Lanka, 2017)

Shubman Gill- 0 and 119 (vs Bangladesh, 2024)

Sarfaraz Khan- 0 and 150 (vs New Zealand, 2024)

Mohd Faisal Hakak

Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.