Hoping Sarfaraz Khan to smash triple hundred on Day 4: Abhishek Nayar

Hoping Sarfaraz Khan to smash triple hundred on Day 4: Abhishek Nayar. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

Sarfaraz Khan’s performance with the bat on Day 4 of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will be key for the hosts as they eye a miraculous comeback after being dismissed for 46 in the first innings.

India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar highlighted the Mumbai batter’s ability to score big runs in domestic cricket and hoped that he would translate his remarkable form into the international arena. The Mumbai batter remained unbeaten on 70 off 78 balls at Stumps on Day 3 as India finished on 231/3. Nayar manifested a triple century from Sarfaraz on Saturday, October 19, on the penultimate day of the intriguing Test match.

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“We associate Sarfaraz Khan with hundreds, double, hundreds and triple hundreds. So I’m hoping at the end of the day we see the domestic Sarfaraz Khan being the beast in international cricket and get that triple hundred,” Nayar said while speaking via a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) video.

Watch the video here:

After being dismissed for a three-ball duck in the first innings, Sarfaraz didn’t show any signs of nervousness in the second as he went after the New Zealand bowlers from the outset, showing great intent to keep the scoreboard ticking. He stitched a crucial 136-run partnership off 163 balls with Virat Kohli to chip away at New Zealand’s first innings lead of 356 runs.

Sarfaraz slams maiden Test ton

Nayar was happy to see Kohli among the runs once again after going through a lean patch in the longest format of the game. The former India captain scored 70 off 102 balls before getting out on the last ball of the day.

“It’s always good to get Virat Kohli scoring runs again. Unfortunate to get out, you know, towards the last ball of the end of day’s play. But we are still positioned to try and get a big score and hopefully push this game to the final day,” Nayar said.

Also Read: Rachin Ravindra calls Virat Kohli’s wicket late on Day 3 as game changer

Meanwhile, Sarfaraz got to his maiden Test century with a boundary off Tim Southee through the cover region in the eighth over on Day 4. Sarfaraz took just 109 balls to get to the magical three-figure mark, hitting 13 fours and three sixes.