Published: Apr 21, 2016, 01:44 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 21, 2016, 07:07 PM (IST)
Sarfaraz Khan’s mother finally watched her son bat in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Wankhede on Wednesday. That turned out to be proud moment for her as the chants of Sar-fa-raaaaz broke in the Wankhede Stadium when Mumbai Indians (MI) hosted Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Sarfaraz’s mother was suffering with stomach infection and fever but the young Mumbai star managed four tickets in the AC box for his family and that ensured a comfortable seating for his sick mother. His brother Moeen and rest of his relatives and friends were spread across in the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Pavilion and Divecha Pavilion. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD:Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore , Live Score, 14th T20 Match, IPL 2016
Last year, Sarfaraz’s family and well-wishers in Mumbai missed a chance to watch their star bat because of an incredible show put on by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers that did not give the young Mumbaikar a chance to bat in front of his home crowd in the RCB jersey. However, this year they witnessed an excellent knock from him. While Sarfarz’s supporters wore his last year’s jersey and were armed with banners and posters of his, their young hero from Mumbai did not disappoint them.
In a match that saw the likes of de Villiers and Shane Watson failed to deliver with the bat, Sarfarz struck a crucial 18-ball 28 that helped RCB reach a total of 170. His innings was inclusive of two boundaries and two sixes that were cheered by the entire Wankhede Stadium at the loudest of their voices. READ: Rohit Sharma: Krunal Pandya makes my job easier as a captain
According to mid-day, Sarfaraz’s father Naushad, who is also his first coach, was delighted with his son’s performance nevertheless. “He played well and according to the situation. It was good to see him accelerate towards the end,” he said.
The crowd couldn’t have asked for a better start when the youngster went off the mark with a clever boundary. It was a third consecutive short ball from Jasprit Bumrah and this time Sarfaraz used the pace of the ball to loft it above the wicketkeeper. There was a gap of nine balls between his first and second boundary. He then targeted Mitchell McClenaghan in the penultimate over. It was again a short ball which was pulled brilliantly by Sarfarz between deep square leg and deep midwicket. It was followed by a huge six off a bouncer from the New Zealander that went into the mid-wicket boundary.
Sarfarz smashed another six before Bumrah sent him back to the dugout on the fourth ball of the last over. While attempting the scoop shot over short fine leg, he just managed the third man where Krunal Pandya finished an easy catch.
