Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar showered praise on debutant Sarfaraz Khan for his smooth batting against England spinners on the opening day of the third Test match at Rajkot on Thursday. Khan deservedly made his Test debut after his consistent performances in the domestic circuit in the last few seasons.
The youngster did look a bit nervous on the first few deliveries he faced. However, he took the attack against Joe Root when the field was up. Khan played some fine shots to the cow corner region and also got a few boundaries straight down the wicket. Furthermore, he made the most of the sweep shot in his debut innings.
Khan scored a fine knock of 62 runs off just 66 balls with the help of nine fours and one six, taking Test cricket like fish to water. The Mumbai batter looked at ease while facing the England spinners and made great use of the depth of the crease.
“Exceptional. Just the way he batted was like somebody from the past that’s come to the present with the way he played spin. It was a sight for the sore eyes, his judgment of length and the way he manuveared the good balls when most young batters would just block and build up dot balls. But he was taking the singles , superb against spin and has the backfoot play as well,” said Manjrekar on ESPN Cricinfo.
But Khan’s knock came to an end after a horrible mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja. The left-hander sold Khan down the river as he called the youngster for a single and then turned it down.
Manjrekar added that Sarfaraz Khan looks gifted against spin as he has all the right skills.
“Even when he lofted the spin, it wasn’t pre-planned. He went towards the ball and at the last minute decided to hit the ball in the air so it was more like a chip shot. He looks gifted against spin and is very old-fashioned in the way he plays. Also, watching players like Sarfaraz, Prithvi Shaw, who are from Mumbai roots, gives the impression that they’ve played a million balls in their life,” said Manjrekar.
India is currently 368-7 with Dhruv Jurel and Ravichandran Ashwin at the crease.
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