Sarfaraz Khan shows what India were missing in third Test against England

India captain Rohit Sharma scored a fine century; all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja got promoted up the order after an early collapse and he also reached three figures on Thursday. But for India, the hero of the day was debutant Sarfaraz Khan.

The 26-year-old hit 62 from just 66 balls on the opening day of the third Test against England in Rajkot, helping the hosts reach 326-5 and take control of the match. And as good as his short yet entertaining innings was, it still did not match the toil behind the journey to his debut.

Sarfaraz had been overlooked by successive selection committees for red-ball cricket. He was not given a chance despite averaging over 80 in first-class cricket since 2020, to go with his career average of 70. He was perceived as not being fit enough for international cricket, while his weakness against high-quality pace was also talked about.

Had it not been for multiple injuries, absences and loss of form of players in the first-choice XI, Sarfaraz would not have been in the picture. But here he was, against all odds, making his Test bow against England with the five-match series delicately poised at 1-1.

Granted, India were well-placed at 237-4 when Sarfaraz walked out to bat against a tiring England attack on arguably the flattest deck in India. But two fellow young batsmen ahead of him, in both the batting and pecking order – Shubman Gill and Rajat Patidar – were all at sea on the same wicket and never looked like imposing themselves the way Sarfaraz did.

The England spinners who had somehow tied India down in the first two Tests had no answer to the free-flowing and fearless strokeplay of Sarfaraz, who saved his best for the most potent England bowler, Tom Hartley, by lofting him down the ground at