The batting phenom Sarfaraz Khan once again roared with the bat as he smashed an unbeaten 125 for the Rest of India against Saurashtra on Day One of the Irani Cup on Saturday (October 1).
At the close od Day 1, Sarfaraz was unbeaten on 125 off 126 to as he steered Hanuma Vihari's Rest of India to 205/3 after Mukesh's swing ripped through the Saurashtra's batting line up to bundle them to paltry 98 in 24.5 overs.
Sarfaraz rose to the occasion again and brought his batting class to the fore with 19 boundaries and three sixes in the presence of chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma and his colleague Sunil Joshi. After a couple of incredible domestic seasons for Mumbai, Sarfaraz was named as part of the Rest of India squad for the 2022 Irani Cup against the 2020 Ranji Trophy Champions Saurashtra.
Meanwhile, impressed by his batting blitz, India's flamboyant batter Suryakumar Yadav, who has been a long-term teammate of Sarfaraz in the Mumbai dressing room and is a close friend, shared a heartfealt post for the 24-year-old on Twitter. Suryakumar wrote, “So so so Proud of you” and also shared a picture of himself watching the game from his hotel room in Guwahati where Team India will play South Africa in the second T20I of the series on October 2.
The hallmark of Sarfaraz's innings was how he picked the length very early and that enabled him to play late. He played some attractive shots square of the wicket but the manner in which he toyed with domestic doyen Jaydev Unadkat was worth watching.
However, Sarfaraz Khan went on to make 138 off 178 before being dismissed by Chirag Jani on Day 2.
The Irani Cup is a one-off match between the winner of the Ranji Trophy and the best players from the respective Ranji Trophy season. Since Covid-19 disrupted India's domestic scenario, the current match is taking place between the winner of the 2020 Ranji Trophy and the Rest of India.
Madhya Pradesh, who won the 2021 Ranji Trophy, will play the Rest of India in March.
