Sarfaraz Khan led the charge for India as it game a strong reply to new Zealand in the second innings of the first Test in Bengaluru. Sarfaraz (125, 154b) and Rishabh Pant (53, 56b) were at crease when an early lunch was taken due to rain. The duo milked 113 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket in just 22 overs. The sight of Rishabh Pant walking out to bat with Sarfaraz too might have calmed a lot of nerves in the Indian dressing room after the former missed the third day’s play due to a blow he copped on his knee on the second day while ‘keeping.

There was hardly any doubt about the hero of the first session.

Playing in only his fifth Test, the Mumbai man, resuming from 70, tamed overcast conditions and New Zealand bowlers in impeccable fashion as India added 63 runs ahead of the first drinks break.

A good chunk of it came from Sarfaraz’s bat and the way he nullified the Kiwis pacers through late cuts was just exceptional.

With the ton, he erased the memories of the duck in the first innings. And with that he joined an elite club of Indian batters who scored a ton after getting out for duck in the same Test match. 

List of Indian stars to score duck in first innings and a century in the second innings of the same game:

Madhav Apte – 0 and 163 (Vs West Indies, 1953)
Sunil Gavaskar – 0 and 118 (vs Australia, 1977)
Dilip Vengsarkar – 0 and 103 (vs England, 1979)
Mohammad Azharuddin – 0 and 109 (vs Pakistan, 1989)
Sachin Tendulkar – 0 and 136 (Vs Pakistan, 1999)
Shikhar Dhawan – 0 and 114 (Vs New Zealand, 2014)
Virat Kohli – 0 and 104 (vs Sri Lanka, 2017)
Shubman Gill – 0 and 119 (vs Bangladesh, 2024)
Sarfaraz Khan – 0 and 125* (vs New Zealand, 2024)

With PTI inputs