Romana, Sarfaraz Khan’s wife, got out of her seat and began to cheer passionately as soon as her husband hit his first runs in international cricket for India. Sarfaraz’s father, Naushad, immediately joined Romana as the two kept on applauding loudly. The end-to-end smile on their faces narrated a story of relief. Sarafaraz made his Test cricket debut with three runs on Day 1 of the third Test against England at Rajkot’s newly renamed Niranjan Shah Stadium.
Mark Wood attempted to bluff Sarfaraz. After delivering the debutant many short balls, the tearaway England fast went for the yorker, but it resulted in a full toss. Sarfaraz, however, did not lose his form. With the field set up for the short-ball trap, there was enough of room in front of the wicket. Sarfaraz was well aware of this.
To get off to a good start, the right-hander just tapped the ball towards mid-on and sprinted three. The 26-year-old then attacked towards strokes on the on side and went for the slog sweep, making it obvious what he intended to do against the spinners. His father and wife cheered him on from the stands, applauding every run and every boundary.
He blew a kiss to his family in the stands after hitting his first half-century and got one in return from his wife too.