Sarfaraz Ahmed's return to Test cricket after nearly four years ended with an impressive 86 as Pakistan overcame a top-order collapse to reach 317-5 against New Zealand in the first Test in Karachi on Monday, December 26. The former Pakistan skipper played second fiddle to current team captain Babar Azam, who finished Day 1 with an unbeaten and impressive 161.
Speaking to the media after the end of Day's play, Sarfaraz shared his delight in playing for the national team and scoring a half-century in his hometown but was disappointed at not being able to convert the score to a ton. “I finally got an opportunity and I hope my today’s knock will help the team. Of course, it was disappointing not to get a century in my hometown, but the partnership with Babar was more important to me,” Sarfaraz said.
Sarfaraz — who was playing his first Test since January 2019 — shared a 196-run stand to lift Pakistan from 110-4 before Ajaz Patel (2-91) broke through late in the final session on Day 1 and had Sarfaraz caught in the slip with the second new ball.
"When I played my first three balls, if you would have measured my heartbeat, the meter would have broken. My heart was beating too fast. It was not like I was debuting, I was making a comeback and the position was crunch," Sarfaraz added.
Meanwhile, Babar scored his fifty off 76 balls when he drove Sodhi through mid-on off the backfoot for his seventh boundary before Southee dismissed Saud Shakeel (22) in the penultimate over before lunch. Patel nearly ended Babar's six hours of batting in the last over, but the Pakistan skipper successfully overturned an LBW ruling through a TV referral.
Both Babar and Sarfaraz dominated the three spinners and were untroubled against the seam bowling of captain Tim Southee and Neil Wagner in nearly two sessions after New Zealand had made early inroads. The veteran batter was appreciative of Babar's help during his innings.
"Babar gave me a lot of confidence and as a senior player the way he talked me through the pressure gave me a lot of confidence," Ahmed said.
