It took a long time and years of hard work for Sarfaraz Khan to find consistency and the ability to make big scores regularly. He seems to have reached that stage, judging by his 275 against defending champions Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy game in Ahmedabad.
“Chhota score koi yaad nahi karta hai, bada banane ke liye bada hi marna padta hai (nobody remembers small scores, to become big, one needs to score big),” Khan casually says over phone. The Mumbai batsman continued his red-ball form from where he had left in pre-pandemic days. His last few Ranji Trophy innings include a 177, a 226 not out and an unbeaten 301.
Sarfaraz Khan since his return : 8, 71*, 36, 301*, 226*, 78, 25, 177, 6, 71*, 14, 228*(still playing)
Unreal consistency from the youngster 🔥💥#SarfarazKhan #Mumbai #RanjiTrophy #Cricket pic.twitter.com/ty43WXKfMU
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) February 18, 2022
Even during lockdown, with no immediate resumption of cricket, Khan kept training for red-ball cricket.
“During lockdown, I travelled across India with my father and continued my practice sessions. Even when there was no cricket throughout the country in 2020, my practice continued on the terrace of my village home,” he recalls.
Against Saurashtra, Khan seemed to be sending a message with his runs. He wanted to tell the world that all those runs in the 2019-2020 season were no fluke. He batted for nearly two days and hit 30 fours and seven sixes. His modus operandi is simple. He respects each bowler in his first spell but aims to dominate thereafter.
“I control my instincts. The new ball does a lot, so one needs to be cautious. Controlling aggression is the key, ball marne se jyada, ball leave karna tough hai (It’s tougher to leave the ball than hit it). So I wait for my chance,” he explains.
His body is tired after the long innings but he is still rueing missing a triple hundred. When he came to bat on Thursday, Mumbai were 44 for 3, a perfect opportunity to prove his mettle. Khan and Rahane added 252 runs for fifth wicket, before Rahane departed for 129 on Friday.
Khan’s innings enabled Mumbai to post 544 for 7 declared and gave them a chance for a perfect start to their red-ball season.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 544 for 7 declared (S Khan 257, Ajinkya Rahane 129; Tanush Koitan 50 not out; Chirag Jani 2/83, D Jadeja 2/191). Saurashtra 18 for no loss.