Smashing Sarfaraz Khan show in Bengaluru

Bombay may have become Mumbai, but if you talk of what they call the ‘khadoos’ mentality in cricketers, it still stays. A chubby man, who turns 27 in three days showed, yet again, he is fearless and will strike the red ball in Test cricket without fear. Watching Sarfaraz Khan smash a 150 against New Zealand in the first Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, it is clear this batter is ready to take his chances. Sample this, Sarfaraz is not even a regular in the Test side. He got in this time as Shubman Gill had a stiff neck and was not 100 per cent fit. Boy, what a chance for this Mumbaikar to showcase his talent and hammer the Kiwi attack. That, too, after he had fallen cheaply in the first innings.

For all those who were full of smirk and sarcasm when India folded up for 46 in the first innings, and sadists on social media said ‘gone with the wind,’ there is romance in what Sarfaraz has produced. When he made his debut in February against England, it was well deserved. Even at that time, Sarfaraz showed he had been drilled well in the fundamentals. After all, for someone to score 439 in the Harris Shield so many years ago and still not be in the reckoning for India was surprising. That knock, which eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar’s feat was a reflection of how much Sarfaraz had laboured under his Dad coach Naushad Khan.

All that is past. For someone who has been part of domestic cricket for over a decade and now get his chance, it is important. Sport is all about grabbing chance at the right time. Sometimes, it is a make or break. This time, Sarfaraz broke the back of the Kiwi fast bowlers as well as the spinners. Imagine, facing pressure of Himalayan proportion after New Zealand had piled up 402 in the first innings, for Sarfaraz to stand up and be counted is important. Test cricket tests character and strength. In the good old days, batters were taught to play safe, score and then cement their place.

No, there has been a change in philosophy and what Sarfaraz has shown in his few Test appearances, four to be precise, he is a cricketer who can be trusted. He uses the vicious cut to great effect and for sheer concentration and application, he deserves praise for the way he stood in the middle and batted with genius Rishabh Pant. For all the talk of Pant being unfit and so much on his knee again injured, it was sad Pant was out for 99. Yet, the demonstration of batting from Sarfaraz and Pant was a great sight.

Batting as a right-hander, Sarfaraz knows how to take on bowlers with aplomb. It is not easy to be a fringe cricketer and compete. More than his strokeplay and stay at the crease – 195 balls – how Sarfaraz handled pressure was a pleasure to watch. The best can crumble under pressure. But if one knock can define temperament and grit, Sarfaraz captured it with creativity. He did not play shots in the “V” and what he churned out was different stuff. Then again, Sarfaraz is not the lean, trim and fit version. He is chubby, no doubt, but proved that to bat in the middle and take on bowling full-on, you need a heart. That defined Sarfaraz, a batter who will now challenge Gill and KL Rahul for their positions.

It would be mindless to drop Sarfaraz after this knock for the second Test. The larger picture is, he has been given freedom to play his natural cricket, though, once Pant was in beast mode, he looked slightly sedate. For the BCCI selectors and skipper Rohit Sharma, to watch the Mumbai ‘khadoos’ mentality would have been a joy. The same goes for Gautam Gambhir as well. This was a refined version of Bazball on view today in very challenging circumstances. The end result could well go in favour of the Kiwis on Day 5, but if Test cricket needed a brilliant burst, the Sarfaraz Khan show was blockbuster. Oh, yes, Sarfaraz had smashed a double ton as well in the Irani Trophy recently.