New Delhi. Indian cricket team's new star Sarfaraz Khan is very happy after scoring the first century of his Test career. Sarfaraz says that his dream since childhood was to score a Test century. Sarfaraz got a chance to replace injured Shubman Gill in the playing eleven in the first Test match against New Zealand, which he grabbed with both hands. Along with this, Sarfaraz has expressed that he is not made to play only as a substitute player. Sarfaraz scored 150 runs and played a big partnership with Rishabh Pant (99). Due to this, India was successful in setting the target of 107 runs for the Kiwi team despite trailing by 356 runs in the first innings.
Sarfaraz Khan's father Naushad also had a dream that his son would play Test cricket and score big. This was the reason why this 26 year old batsman did not forget to mention his father. He said in the press conference after the match, 'I talk to my father often because he keeps motivating me all the time. I felt good because it was my first century playing for India. This has been a dream for me since childhood. I am very happy.'
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'Thinking about tomorrow spoils my present too'
Sarfaraz knows that making a place in the Indian middle order is not easy but he wants to focus only on the present instead of thinking about the future. He said, 'I always keep in mind that tomorrow is uncertain. It has happened in the past that thinking about tomorrow has spoiled my present, so now I want to live only in the present. Sarfaraz showed during his innings that he is a good off-side batsman. New Zealand's fast bowlers bowled short pitches to him on which he easily scored runs on the off side. Out of his 150 runs, he scored 83 runs on the off side.
'I like to play the high ball'
According to Sarfaraz, 'I like to play the high rising ball. There is a bouncy wicket at my home (Mumbai) on which I practice regularly. They (New Zealand fast bowlers) were trying to bowl short balls outside the off for me and I just played accordingly. It was fun. Sarfaraz made a partnership of 177 runs with Rishabh Pant for the fourth wicket. Pant was recovering slightly from his knee injury and was initially struggling to find his rhythm. Therefore, Sarfaraz faced New Zealand's fast bowlers more in the first hour and gave more strikes to his partner after the arrival of spin bowlers.
'We have to take 2-3 wickets in the beginning'
Sarfaraz said, 'When the left-arm spinner was bowling, I was trying to give strike to Pant. I knew he would overpower them. We were trying to put pressure on the bowlers from both ends because I was also facing the fast bowling attack well. India has set a target of 107 runs for New Zealand but Sarfaraz is hopeful that his team will be successful in defending it. He said, 'This is not an easy wicket to bat on. I don't think the game is out of our hands yet. The ball is still cutting in and out. Therefore, if we are successful in taking two-three wickets from them (New Zealand) in the beginning, then their batting can collapse.
Tags: India vs new zealand, Sarfaraz Khan
FIRST PUBLISHED : October 19, 2024, 10:06 pm IST
