Former England cricketer Paul Collingwood was amazed by Sarfaraz Khan’s impressive performance on his debut for India in Rajkot. He said that the batsman had a lot of courage as he played bravely in his first innings.
While Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja smashed centuries on Day 1 of the Rajkot Test, debutant Sarfaraz Khan stole the show. The Mumbai batsman finally made his debut for India and lived up to the expectations.
Sarfaraz Khan came in to bat as India lost Rohit Sharma for 131 runs. After that, the batsman played superbly well and did not look like he was playing his first innings for India. The right-hander batted positively and made sure to put pressure on the opposition.
Sarfaraz Khan also played attacking cricket in his innings and also defended the ball quite well. He looked ready for a big hit, but it ran out. He finished with an innings of 62 runs off 66 balls and also hit 9 boundaries and 1 six in his innings.
Paul Collingwood noted how Sarfaraz Khan seemed unfazed by the attacking field set up by Ben Stokes. He praised the batsman for his bravery and stated that he played well.
The former England cricketer feels Sarfaraz Khan puts pressure on the bowlers and said his high average in first-class cricket speaks for itself. Speaking to the media, he explained:
“I thought Ben (Stokes) wanted to keep attacking the pitches so we could create a chance. And fair play to him (Sarfaraz), he had the courage to overlook himself on some occasions. He sweeps very well and puts pressure on players.
“On your debut, it takes a lot of courage to go out and play like that. I guess from his point of view, it was a shame he got kicked out the way he did. You can see why he has a pretty good first-class average: he looks like a decent player.”
The two guys who got hundreds and Sarfaraz Khan at the end played exceptionally well – Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood also highlighted that England had the game in their hands in the first hour of play. But he believes centurions Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja along with Sarfaraz Khan played quite well. He added:
“It was a great start, there was a bit of movement this morning, it seemed a bit cooler, a bit of moisture in the ground, so the ball was moving a bit. Jimmy and Woody were exceptional. As the ball gets softer, it does less.
“The spinners worked hard all day with little reward, but when you have quality batsmen like those in Team India, they will always get a response. The two boys who scored hundreds and Sarfaraz at the end played exceptionally well. We threw everything at them, in terms of plans and field positions.”
On Day 1, India were 326/5 and Ravindra Jadeja was batting 110.
