"Reminds me of Javed Miandad" - Sanjay Manjrekar compares Sarfaraz Khan to legend after he imitates his 1992 jumping style in IND vs NZ 2024 1st Test
Fomer India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has compared Sarfaraz Khan to Pakistan legend Javed Miandad after he imitated his famous jumping style on the pitch to send wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant back to the keeper's end on Day 4 (October 19) of the first Test between India and New Zealand. India are batting in the third innings of the match in Bengaluru after scoring 46 in their first essay.
Pant joined Sarfaraz Khan in the middle after Virat Kohli was dismissed on the last ball of Day 3 (Friday, October 18). Both batters were a bit slow to get off the blocks but Sarfaraz went about business as usual for him, scoring uppercuts and ramps towards deep third man and picking up boundaries. Pant took his time but eventually got accustomed and scored a boundary to boost his morale.
On the first ball of the 56th over, Sarfaraz once again tucked it towards the deep third and set off for a single. He got the single but Rishabh Pant looked to come back for the second run and was a long way down the track. In desperation, Sarfaraz Khan started jumping on the pitch at his end to send back Pant, who returned safely, thanks to some poor fielding as well.
During the India vs Pakistan match at the 1992 World Cup, Miandad jumped to mock former wicketkeeper-batter Kiran More while batting. Manjrekar spotted Sarfaraz Khan in the act and spoke about it to ESPNcricinfo's YouTube channel (via NDTV Sports):
"Sarfaraz reminds me of a Javed Miandad of the 1980s but this is a 2024 version of a Javed Miandad."
Rishabh Pant was a tad bit lucky that the ball got stuck in Tom Blundell's gloves on Saturday, as he survived a runout. Pant and Sarfaraz are batting in the middle with a partnership worth 91 runs.
Sarfaraz Khan's maiden ton helps India shave off a good chunk of the trail in IND vs NZ 2024 1st Test
With a trail of 356 runs, Team India batters had starts throughout the lineup, with a brisk half-century from Rohit Sharma (52 off 63) and a well-paced knock from Virat Kohli (70 off 102). Sarfaraz Khan continued from his overnight score of 70 and scored his first Test ton for India.
Alongside him, Rishabh Pant is out in the middle after taking a blow to his knee and is on his way to getting a half-century.
At the moment, Team India are on 326/3 after 68 overs. They trail by 30 runs with less than 45 minutes to go for Lunch on Day 4.