Sarfaraz Khan smokes Ranji Trophy century days after India snub
Sarfaraz Khan mustered a brilliant century days after missing a Test call-up for the Australia series. It was his third ton of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season and it couldn't have come at a better time. The dasher ended up scoring 125 off 155 balls, a knock laced with 16 fours and 4 sixes. Here we look at his stellar stats.
A timely knock from Sarfaraz
Batting first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Mumbai were tottering at 66/4 at one stage. However, Sarfaraz, who arrived to bat at number five, brought his side back in the hunt with a stunning knock. Notably, he reached his hundred off just 135 deliveries as Mumbai went past the 250-run mark in the final session of the day.
Sensational run in the ongoing season
Meanwhile, Sarfaraz has now gone past the 550-run mark (556) this season, becoming the second Mumbai batter to do so after Prithvi Shaw (579). Prior to the century versus Delhi, his scores in the competition read 28*, 162 & 15*, 75, 20, 126*, and 5. It is worth noting that Sarfaraz's strike rate is in excess of 70 this season.
Astronomical numbers in First-Class cricket
Sarfaraz, who made his First-Class debut in 2014, is standing in his 37th game in the format. The 25-year-old has so far accumulated 3,505 runs as he averages over 80 in the format. He owns 13 tons and nine half-centuries in red-ball cricket. The same speaks volumes of his stellar conversion rate. Meanwhile, the batting sensation also owns a triple-hundred (301*).
Sarfaraz's incredible numbers in red-ball cricket
As per Mohandas Menon, Sarfaraz has already slammed over 926 runs while averaging 90-plus in the 2022-23 First-Class season. Notably, the right-hander racked up 928 runs at 154.66 in 2019-20. He followed it up with a mouth-dropping 982-run season in 2021-22, averaging 122.75.
Second-most FC centuries since 2020
As per ESPNcricinfo, Sarfaraz has hammered the joint-second-most First-Class centuries since 2020. He has clocked 13 tons in merely 35 innings and averages over 108. He ranks behind Australia's Marnus Labuschagne (15) and stands par with former England captain Joe Root (13). The duo, however, has taken 81 innings each in this interval. Sarfaraz would be determined to enhance his tally.
Heartbreak after Test snub
Sarfaraz was devastated after being left out of India's Test squad for four-match home series in February-March. The selectors preferred Suryakumar Yadav ahead of him owing to the former's recent white-ball form. "I wasn't able to sleep. I kept asking why am I not there? But I won't slip into depression," Sarfaraz told Indian Express after his snub.
