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Sarfaraz Khan scored his maiden Test century on the fourth day of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, which helped India reduce the visitors’ lead to under a hundred runs in the first innings.
Sarfaraz, who was called in because of Shubman Gill’s stiff neck, made up for his disappointment in the first innings with a stunning century in 110 balls, including 13 fours and 3 sixes.
India vs New Zealand Test: Focus returns to the Indian batters after a high-scoring day
He reached the milestone with a boundary off Tim Southee and celebrated in style, raising both hands in a celebratory sprint.
The 26-year-old from Mumbai also scored four half-centuries in his impressive Test start cricket. This is his fourth Test since his debut against England earlier in February this year.
This is the 22nd time in Test history that an Indian batsman has scored both a duck and a century in the same game. The last time this happened was just last month when Shubman Gill did it against Bangladesh in Chennai.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF SARFARAZ FINISHING HIS SOUND
Sarfaraz had made it into the Indian team after constantly knocking on the door of selection with his consistency in domestic cricket. His current first-class figures are: 51 matches, 76 innings, 4422 runs, highest 301 not out, average 69.09, 15 hundreds, 14 fifties.
The day began with India trailing New Zealand’s 356-run first innings lead by 125 runs. The Kiwis scored 402 points after bowling India out for just 46 points – their lowest in a Test on home soil.
Earlier, Rishabh Pant recovered from a blow to his knee on the second day and joined Sarfaraz as the new batsman on the fourth morning after Virat Kohli fell off the last ball on the third day.
Pant was hit on the knee while keeping wicket and was helped off the field. Dhruv Jurel kept the wickets in Pant’s absence.
