Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar appreciated the debutant Sarfaraz Khan for his attacking approach during his knock on the first day of the third Test match of the five-match series at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Thursday. Sarfaraz’s hard work came to fruition when he smashed a stylish 62 of 66 balls while coming in at number six on his debut. He put on a sparkling show of batting and looked on course to hit a big score.
However, miscommunication with star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the middle cut short his brilliant debut innings as he was run out by Mark Wood at the non-striker’s end. Both the batters build a partnership of 77 runs. The commentator asserted that it looked like the right-hand batter was exceptional during his knock.
“Exceptional. Just the way he batted was like somebody from the past that’s come to the present with the way he played spin. It was a sight for the sore eyes, his judgment of length and the way he manuveared the good balls when most young batters would just block and build up dot balls. But he was taking the singles, superb against spin and has the back foot play as well,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. The 58-year-old further stated that Sarfaraz is very old-fashioned in the way he plays.
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“Even when he lofted the spin, it wasn’t pre-planned. He went towards the ball and at the last minute decided to hit the ball in the air so it was more like a chip shot. He looks gifted against spin and is very old-fashioned in the way he plays. Also, watching players like Sarfaraz, Prithvi Shaw, who are from Mumbai roots, gives the impression that they’ve played a million balls in their life,” the former right-hand batter added. Sarfaraz’s surge to international level has been much anticipated by fans, who have kept an eye on his domestic cricket form. He has been thriving in first-class cricket, most notably the Ranji Trophy, where he top-scored in 2021-22 with 982 runs in six matches, placed fifth in the 2019-20 season with 928 runs in six matches, scoring well in the 2022-23 season as well with 556 runs in six matches.
In the unofficial Test series of three matches against England Lions earlie, Sarfaraz did well for India A, scoring 96 in a Tour match then 4, 55 and 161 in two unofficial Tests. In 45 first-class matches, Sarfaraz scored 3,912 runs at an average of 69.85, with 14 centuries and 11 fifties, with the best score being 301*.
