Despite starting the day at a precarious 248 for five, 41-time winners Mumbai managed a strong total of 374 in their first innings against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy final at M Chinnaswamy, Bangalore, and it was largely thanks to Sarfaraz Khan’s fourth hundred of the season.
Sarfaraz, who has already amassed an incredible 900-plus runs in the Ranji Trophy in only six matches, might breach 1000 runs for the season if Mumbai are put to bat again in the game. Batting with the lower order, Sarfaraz scored 134 runs off 234 in the process of notching up his seventh first-class century.
Ranji Trophy final, Day 2: Sarfaraz hits another ton; Yash, Shubham help Madhya Pradesh fight back
In the media interaction following play on Day 2, a teary-eyed Sarfaraz credited his father and coach Naushad Khan for his success so far and spoke about his fiery celebration after he brought up the century.
“This hundred is because of my abbu (father), his sacrifices and holding my hand when I could have been down and out,” said Sarfaraz, reported PTI.
“In our lives, it’s about all those little dreams that we harbour. The dreams that we (he and his dad) have dreamt together. The nearly 2000 runs that I have scored in two seasons since my Mumbai comeback is because of my abbu.”
Sarfaraz underwent a rather difficult phase before his return to the Mumbai side at the start of the previous season, after switching to Uttar Pradesh in a bid to secure more opportunities. The middle-order batsman, however, only played in just eight Ranji games for UP over his three seasons.
“Aap sab toh jaante ho mere saath kya kya huwa hai.. Abbu na rahte toh main khatm ho jataa (You all know what I have gone through and had my father not been there, I would have been finished by now),” stated the 24-year-old.
“There has been so much of struggle and when I think how my dad dealt with all of it, I get emotional. He didn’t leave my hand even once. My brother put up a status on his cell phone and I could see Abbu so happy. It made my day.”
Read the full PTI report here.
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