Sarfaraz Khan played a blistering innings for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The fourth-round battle against Goa on the Jaipur ground seemed to turn into his solo theatrical stage.
Scoring a century in just 56 balls, he broke Rohit Sharma's record for the fastest List A century. But he didn't stop there-he stormed to 157 runs off 75 balls.
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Sarfaraz hit 8 sixes to reach his century, and in his entire innings, sent 14 sixes and 9 fours soaring into the sky. His strike rate touched over 209, as if every ball was a weapon of attack.
Last week, Rohit Sharma had scored a century in 62 balls against Sikkim, but Sarfaraz surpassed him with an even faster, more intense, more explosive century.
Sarfaraz Khan's talent in red-ball cricket has been discussed for a long time. His average in first-class cricket is 63.15, which includes 16 centuries and an equal number of half-centuries. However, Rohit first made his name in T20 cricket. In 2015, at just 17 years old, he debuted as the youngest cricketer to play in the IPL. His creative and aesthetic batting quickly made him a fan favourite, though his path in white-ball cricket later became somewhat difficult.
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After remarkable changes in fitness, Sarfaraz is once again proving himself in all three formats. Recently, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he scored 329 runs at an average of 65.80 and a strike rate of 203.09. As a result, he secured a place in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team in the IPL. With this, he demolished the opposition's bowling attack. Along with half-centuries from Musheer Khan and Hardik Tamore, Mumbai posted 444 runs for 8 wickets, which is their second-highest List A total.
This century, on the last day of 202,5 holds special significance for Sarfaraz. After staying away from international cricket for a long time, he is once again at the centre of discussion. During his innings on the Jaipur pitch, he also faced Arjun Tendulkar, who was playing for Goa. He scored 11 runs off Arjun's six balls, which was a small but attractive chapter of the rivalry.
This is Sarfaraz Khan's first century in the current season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and his third century in List A cricket. His previous highest was 55 runs against Uttarakhand.
This time, his blistering innings of 157 runs off 75 balls against Goa brought him back to the top of discussions. Breaking Rohit Sharma's record and creating new history, he proved that his talent in white-ball cricket is still limitless.
