Sarfaraz in action Vs New Zealand [Source: PTI]
Sarfaraz Khan finally made the most of his opportunity and slammed his maiden Test ton to bail India out of precarious situation in the ongoing Bengaluru Test Vs New Zealand. Sarfaraz was a part of the India squad for Test series Vs England, but he needed a breakout moment to secure his place in the side.
The moment arrived when Shubman Gill was ruled out of the first Test, and Sarfaraz got a chance to cement his place in the team. The Test match started on a disastrous note for the Mumbai batter as he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings. However, the talented batter looked unfazed and produced a Bazball style innings to push New Zealand on the back-foot.
Alongside Virat Kohli, he stitched a hundred-run stand, and once Kohli departed on the last ball of Day 3, Sarfaraz joined hands with Rishabh Pant and took the game away from the Kiwis as he registered his maiden Test ton.
Sarfaraz's unique feat in Tests
On Saturday, Sarfaraz joined an elite list of Indian players after breaching the 100-run mark. He became only the ninth Indian cricketer to slam a duck and a century in the same Test match, and joined some of the elite Indian players, including the likes of Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar.
Before Sarfaraz, this feat was recently achieved by Shubman Gill, who scored a duck and a century against Bangladesh in the first Test.
Indian players with duck and century in same Test
Players | Scores | Opposition | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Madhav Apte | 0, 163 | West Indies | 1953 |
Sunil Gavaskar | 0, 118 | Australia | 1977 |
Dilip Vengsarkar | 0, 103 | England | 1979 |
Mohammad Azharuddin | 0, 109 | Pakistan | 1989 |
Sachin Tendulkar | 0, 136 | Pakistan | 1999 |
Shikhar Dhawan | 0, 114 | New Zealand | 2014 |
Virat Kohli | 0, 104 | Sri Lanka | 2017 |
Shubman Gill | 0, 119 | Bangladesh | 2024 |
Sarfaraz Khan | 0, 150* | New Zealand | 2024 |
Sarfaraz Khan breached the 150-run mark, but just after the landmark, the Mumbai batter lost his concentration and was dismissed for a sublime 150 off 195 balls, as India lead by 52 runs.