BENGALURU: Expressing his delight after scoring his maiden Test century against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India’s right-hand batter, Sarfaraz Khan, said he felt like he was ‘flying’ in the sky.
He also recalled how star batter and former RCB teammate Virat Kohli motivated him to back his skills and play his shots freely.
“It felt very good. When I was celebrating my century it felt like the grass was blue, not green. It felt like I was in the sky. I was so happy. My dream was to score a hundred for India, and it came true,” Sarfaraz Khan said in the video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“I have watched Virat Kohli since childhood and I always wanted to play with him. That dream came true in RCB, but to play with him in the Indian team, that was special. He kept saying that ‘back your shots, play freely’ and he gave me a lot of confidence. When someone like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma pat your back and say that you have done well, it is obviously a proud moment,” the Mumbai-born cricketer added.
Coming to the fourth day of the match, India, who were going great guns in their second innings and were 407-3 at one point, lost seven wickets in less than 60 runs. The dismal performance in the first innings, when they could score only 46 runs, continues to haunt them.
Sarfaraz Khan continued his good form and notched up 150. Rishab Pant also made a valuable contribution of 99. KL Rahul failed to be among the runs.
India’s troubles mounted as New Zealand bowlers made good use of new ball in the post-Tea session.
Ravindra Jadeja was the first to fall, dismissed by William O’ Rourke for 5. India managed to reach 450 in 94.5 overs but the wickets kept tumbling. When Ravichandran Ashwin was dismissed, India had scored 458 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah followed soon after, dismissed for a duck by Matt Henry, reducing India to 462/9. Mohammed Siraj also fell for a duck just two balls later, with Henry claiming his third wicket. Kuldeep Yadav remained unbeaten on 6, struggling to score as the ball was stopping on the wet outfield.
Both William O’Rourke and Matt Henry ended with three wickets each, while Tim Southee picked up one. Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips also made contributions, taking two and one wicket, respectively.
This effort by New Zealand’s fast bowling unit, claiming 17 wickets, is the most by a visiting side in a Test match in India since South Africa took 19 wickets in Ahmedabad in 2008.
As New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway came out to bat, they only faced four deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before bad light stopped play for the day. Latham survived a scareball when a Bumrah delivery pitched outside off. India lost the review.
With New Zealand keen to make 107 runs, India have their task cut out to take all 10 wickets. (ANI)
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