IND vs NZ 1st Test: 'Domestic Beast' Sarfaraz Khan Hits Maiden Test Century

Sarfaraz Khan scored his maiden Test century on Day 4 of the 1st Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru (Karnataka): Rising sensation Sarfaraz Khan, who has scored plethora of runs in domestic circuits in the previous seasons, got at an opportunity after regular no.3 batter Shubman Gill was ruled out, to smash his maiden Test hundred on Day 4 of the 1st Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

Sarfaraz, who scored three back-to-back half-centuries against England earlier this year, returned to the playing XI after being benched in the Bangladesh series. The Mumbai batter was dismissed for a three-ball duck in the first innings, but came out all guns blazing in the second innings, scoring boundaries and sixes for fun against both pace and spin. His strike rate over 90 is a testament to his quick-fire innings that nullified the pressure on Virat Kohli and injury-hit Rishabh Pant, who got some time to settle in.

The right-hand batter came into this game on the back of a brilliant double century in the Irani Cup match against the Rest of India, leading them to end their 27-year trophy drought. After the ton, he had dedicated his knock to his brother Musheer Khan after he was involved in a car accident in Lucknow last month.

Sarfaraz, known for scoring daddy hundreds will only aim to go big and put India in a winning position from here. Sarfaraz was joined by Pant on the Day 4 morning after Kohli was dismissed on 70 on Day 3's last ball.

Pant braved his knee injury and walked out to bat alongside Sarfaraz, who continued batting with a similar intent while also maintaining caution in gloomy conditions. Sarfaraz was unbeaten at 70 and reached the three-figure mark in no time. His knock was laced with some audacious hitting which included ramp shots and uppercuts.

This is the only 22nd instance of an India batter registering a duck and a hundred in the same Test, the most recent being Shubman Gill against Bangladesh in Chennai last month. The only other Indian to do that against New Zealand was Shikhar Dhawan - 0 and 115 at Eden Park, Auckland in 2014.

"We associate Sarfaraz Khan with hundreds, double, hundreds and triple hundreds. So I'm hoping at the end of the day we see the domestic Sarfaraz Khan being the beast in international cricket and get that triple hundred," India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said about Sarfaraz Khan, who was unbeaten at 70 at the end of Day 3.

India have also crossed 500 fours in Tests in the calendar year 2024. This is the second most number of fours in Tests this year by any team after England's 789.