Bengaluru: Abhishek Nayar, India’s assistant coach, is optimistic about Sarfaraz Khan’s potential to replicate his remarkable domestic success in international cricket. The Mumbai batsman’s maiden Test century against New Zealand on the fourth day of the match is a significant milestone in his career.
Sarfaraz continued his performance from an overnight score of 70 and was joined in the middle by Rishabh Pant to help India battle back in the first Test after being bowled out for 46, their lowest Test total at home.
The duo stitched a 113-run partnership, with Pant scoring his 12th Test fifty before rain halted play in the first session. India were 344/3 in 71 overs, trailing by 12 runs.
“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 in a video posted by BCCI on X.
Earlier on Friday, Sarfaraz was also involved in a 136-run crucial partnership with Virat Kohli (70) before Glenn Phillips removed him on the final ball of the day’s play.
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“Sometimes, when you are pushed against the wall, you expect Indians to come and fight back, and that’s the character we have in the dressing room. That innate nature that fights when you’re up against it is very natural to us,” Nayar said.
Looking ahead, Nayar shared the team’s strategy, “If we can get past the first 15-20 overs without losing a wicket, then I think we can look at getting anywhere around 300-350 by the end of the day and then sort of challenging the New Zealanders in the last day. The ideal situation is to put 250 runs on board and put New Zealand in.”
India’s second assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, lauded India’s attitude toward overcoming the collapse of the first innings and initiating a fightback.
“Pretty solid day. We fought really hard, and we were really good up until that last ball. It’s probably a big moment in the Test, but what it means is we’ve given ourselves a chance to get back into the game. No matter what situation they’re presented with, we’re trying to find solutions, and I think you saw that today. With a massive deficit like that, it would have been easy to throw the towel in. So we’re not far off and certainly don’t feel like we’re out of the game. I think the guys have shown a never-say-die attitude, and that’s how we go about it.” Ryan said.
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–IANS
(Photo: IANS/Dhananjay Yadav)
