Sarfaraz Khan's penchant for hundreds continues as he slams 177 against Madhya Pradesh in Ranji Trophy

Perennial domestic giants Mumbai may have had another forgettable season in the Ranji Trophy but in Sarfaraz Khan, the former champions have found a batsman whose penchant for scoring daddy hundreds is reaching new heights with each passing. Sarfaraz Khan once again displayed why he is in the form of his life when he racked up another hundred- his third in just innings this season.

Khan came into bat during Mumbai’s Elite Group A & B match against Madhya Pradesh in a familiar situation- reeling at 3 for 71 after having lost the prized wickets of Suryakumar Yadav [43] and Siddesh Lad [4] in quick succession.

But Sarfaraz, with the kind of form he is, the situation was never going to bother him. He played his natural game and by the time stumps were called, he had blazed away to an unbeaten 177 off 210 balls- an innings which was laced with 24 fours and three sixes. Sarfaraz had an able company in opener Aakarshit Gomel who racked up a patient 122 [off 240 balls] as Mumbai posted a mammoth score of 427/10 in their first innings.

Sarfaraz Khan’s comeback story is gradually turning into a fairytale

Three years ago, the precocious young talent was at the nadir of his career. He was released by the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore thanks to his abysmal form and fitness-related issues. He had also left Mumbai to tread on unchartered territories of Uttar Pradesh with little success. 

Upon his return to Mumbai, Sarfaraz had a lean start to his 2019-20 season of the Ranji Trophy when he could only manage 8 runs in his opening innings and Karnataka. He made amends for it in the second innings when he scored an unbeaten 71 out of  Mumbai’s total tally of 149. He once again got off to a start- 36- against Tamil Nadu but was unable to convert it into a daddy hundred.

But, little did anyone know that it was just a calm before the eventual Sarfaraz-storm. The right-hander blasted a whirlwind 301- an innings which included 30 fours and eight sixes- against Uttar Pradesh and followed it up with another sumptuous double-hundred [226 off 213 balls; 32 fours and 4 sixes] against Himachal Pradesh before following it up with a 78 and 25 against Saurashtra. 

Sarfaraz is quickly climbing the batting charts for the most runs in a season is concerned. In just 8 innings, Khan has racked up 914 runs at an average of 228.50 with two half-centuries and three [daddy] hundreds.

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