It has been a difficult week for Sarfaraz Khan, as his younger brother Musheer, who was also set to play the match, was sidelined from competitive cricket for 16 weeks following a road accident.
The stature of Sarfaraz Khan as a domestic stalwart continues to rise, with his commanding double century for Mumbai not only placing Rest of India under immediate strain in the ongoing Irani Cup but also keeping the experienced KL Rahul on alert as the Indian team prepares for the Test tour of Australia next month. Sarfaraz (221* off 276 balls) became the first cricketer to notch a double hundred in the Irani Cup for Mumbai, with the 42-time champions reaching 536 for 9 by the end of the second day.
Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha), Ravi Shastri, Praveen Amre, and Yashasvi Jaiswal (all for Rest of India) are double centurions in the Irani Cup.
It has been a difficult week for Sarfaraz, as his younger brother Musheer, who was also set to play, was ruled out of competitive cricket for 16 weeks following a road accident.
Despite the unsettling incident involving his brother and father Naushad’s car accident, Sarfaraz showed no signs of distraction in his batting, as he tore into the Rest of India’s bowling attack.
Although he played 160 dot balls, he maintained an 80% strike rate, thanks to his 25 boundaries and four sixes.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (97 off 234 balls) narrowly missed his 40th first-class century, but the second day belonged to Sarfaraz, who was relentless against both pace and spin.
His 15th first-class century has surely put to rest any questions about his position as the reserve middle-order batter for the remainder of the Test season, consisting of eight matches.
Rahul, who reclaimed his middle-order slot in Kanpur, performed well, but both the team management and the Karnataka batter are aware that the stocky Mumbaikar is pushing hard for that spot.
The Ekana Stadium pitch, with moisture underneath, made batting difficult early on, with the ball seaming and bouncing extra. However, Sarfaraz’s off-side driving was majestic, and his footwork against spinners flawless. He especially dominated left-arm spinner Manav Suthar (0/137 in 37 overs), who seemed helpless against him.
As Suthar resorted to bowling a negative leg-stump line, Sarfaraz cleverly went inside out or dropped to one knee to slog-sweep for sixes.
In partnership with Tanush Kotian (64), Sarfaraz added a demoralizing 183 runs for the seventh wicket, severely denting the Rest of India bowling attack.
Once he reached his double century, Sarfaraz let out a roar of triumph, kissed the Lion’s crest on his shirt, and followed it with a stunning hooked six over deep fine leg off Prasidh Krishna. Earlier in the day, a perfectly timed ramp shot using the extra pace and bounce silenced critics who doubted his ability on such tracks.
Brief Scores:
- Mumbai 1st Innings: 536/9 decl. (Sarfaraz Khan 221*, Ajinkya Rahane 97; Mukesh Kumar 4/109, Yash Dayal 2/89, Prasidh Krishna 2/102) vs Rest of India.
