Sarfaraz Khan is proud of keeping his promise. And the bubbly character looked satisfied after fulfilling the promise he made to his Mumbai teammates ahead of the start of the Irani Cup clash against Rest of India.
“It has been an emotional week for me. I had promised my family and teammates that ‘if I get set, if I cross the fifty, I will score a double century – a century for me and a hundred for my brother (Mushir),'” Sarfaraz said. Said here on Thursday, the third day. Of the match.
“If he (Musheer) had played, Abbu (father Naushad) would have been more proud. Unfortunately he met with an accident. So, I thought I have to score a double century in this match somehow.
It has indeed been a tiring week for Sarfaraz on and off the field. On the field, soon after joining Mumbai from the Indian camp last night, he has been out of the park in the scorching heat for most of the last three days. And to top it all, his family – along with his father-cum-mentor Naushad and younger brother Mushir – were involved in a road accident while traveling here for an Iranian Cup game.
Once Musheer was ruled out of the game – and for at least the next six weeks – Sarfaraz took the responsibility upon himself and scored an unbeaten 222 to lead Mumbai to a first innings victory against Rest of India.
While four Mumbai batsmen – Ravi Shastri (ROI), Praveen Amre (ROI), Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (ROI) – had previously scored double figures in the Irani Cup, no one had done so at Lion Crest . Sarfaraz achieved this feat on the second day. But more than his individual milestone, he was happy that he helped Mumbai post a big score in their bid to win the first Iranian title of the century.
“It is a big opportunity for us to win the Iranian Cup after 26 years. I have a reputation for playing big innings and I am happy that I was able to perform well when the team wanted me to.
published – October 04, 2024 04:53 am IST