Cricket News: The choice to reinstate former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed into the Pakistan Test team paid off handsomely as they battled hard against New Zealand in the opening Test of the two-match series. Sarfaraz, who had been absent from the Test team for nearly four years, made his comeback with a key 153-ball 86 and a critical 196-run partnership with captain Babar Azam for the fifth wicket.
The first Test was Sarfaraz’s first Test since his debut, and all of the games of New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan will be held in Karachi. After playing his 49th Test in January 2019, Sarfaraz had to wait almost four years to represent Pakistan in his 50th Test. When Pakistan was under strain and down to 110/4, he came out to bat. But he maintained his cool under pressure.
On his return, the wicketkeeper-batter broke his silence and admitted that he had felt uneasy when he walked out to bat. Before lunch, he claimed, things had been stressful, but Babar Azam had given him the necessary confidence during the break in the dressing room, allowing him to settle into the game without difficulty.
“If you had measured my heartbeat during the first three balls I played, the metre would have stopped. Too quickly, my heart was racing. It wasn’t like I was making my debut; instead, it was a comeback in a time of need. In a press conference following the first day of play, he remarked,” Babar gave me a lot of confidence and as a senior player, the way he guided me through the pressure gave me a lot of confidence.
In my hometown, it was unfortunate not to get a century: Ahmed
Sarfaraz was out for 86 runs (153), falling just short of his century. The right-hander edged Ajaz Ahmed’s delivery in the 86th over of the match and was caught on a slip by Daryl Mitchell. After losing his wicket and failing to turn his knock into a crucial century, Sarfaraz was unhappy.
“I finally got my chance, and I hope my knock today will benefit the squad. Of course, not getting a century in my hometown was disheartening, but my relationship with Babar was more significant to me,” he said.
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