‘It was my dream…’- Emotional Sarfaraz Khan opens up on his Test debut in front of his father
It was a mixed day for India against England in the 3rd test. What started as a nightmarish start at 33 for 3 ended at a strong position for them with India at 326-5 at the end of the day’s play but given the batting-friendly conditions and the aggressive style of play of the opposition, India would expect some significant contributions from there middle order to take them to 450 at the end of the first innings.
England’s fast bowlers dominated the first hour of the play and got India stranded at 33 for 3, the danger of getting their inexperienced middle-order exposed was on the cards but the move of sending Ravindra Jadeja proved to be fruitful for India as both of them together stitched a 204-run stand between each other to take out India from a precarious position to a strong spot.
Sarfaraz Khan stole the show with his spin-playing masterclass
Both Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja hammered a century but it was the debutant Sarfaraz Khan who stole the show with his flawless 62 runs off just 66 balls. It was an emotional day for Sarfaraz Khan as he got the Indian baggy green cap from the great Anil Kumble in front of his father who has been his inspiration and coach from his childhood.
It was all turning out to be a perfect day for Sarfaraz Khan as he was marching towards a hundred on his debut test match but unfortunately got run out due to a miscommunication with Ravindra Jadeja. However, before getting out Sarfaraz Khan put up a masterclass on how to play spin India as he was all comfortable against the England spin attack and took them to all parts of the ground.
Considered a prodigal talent in his teens, 26-year-old Sarfaraz Khan toiled hard for his India debut and piled on the huge run before making it to the big stage. Today, after a fantastic debut he expressed in the post-match conference what went inside him before going out to bat and how did he feel debuting in front of the most important person of his life- his father.
Speaking about the experience, Sarfaraz Khan said, “Bahut accha laga, my father was here when I received the cap. It was my dream to play for India in front of him,” My father wasn’t coming to the ground initially. But some people requested him and he came to witness this special moment. I feel some burden is off my shoulders now that I haven’t let my father’s efforts go to waste.”
He further said, “I was padded for four hours but told myself that I have kept so much patience, time to keep more. I told Jaddu bhai to keep talking to me while I bat since I like talking while batting. He supported me a lot today while batting. There was nervousness early on but it felt normal after that.”
