Ranji Trophy: Sarfaraz Khan’s shout out to selectors

New Delhi, January 17

Sarfaraz Khan was walking a tightrope after he opened up about his frustrations for not getting a look-in for the upcoming Test series against Australia. What raised eyebrows was the fact that the Mumbai middle-order batsman slammed the selectors for going back on their words.

I am now used to coming in to bat when we are 16/3 or 20/4. One has to spend time on the pitch but after lunch, it becomes easier as bowlers get tired. Sarfaraz Khan

Still smarting from the decision, the 26-year-old walked the talk with a masterful century as he rescued the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions from a precarious 62/3 to take the score to 293 at stumps against Delhi in their Group B clash.

When he walked in, Delhi had an iron grip on the day’s proceedings as all-rounder Pranshu Vijayran had dismissed Armaan Jaffer and his younger brother Musheer with his gentle seamers. He also removed Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane, who was brilliantly caught at gully by Vaibhav Rawal. The task of rebuilding the innings was left to the middle-order mainstay, and the burly batter duly obliged.

He first struck a 44-run partnership with wicketkeeper Prasad Panwar for the fifth wicket and then teamed up with Shams Mulani for the sixth as the duo added 143 runs to get Mumbai breathing again.

By the time he was dismissed — his was the seventh wicket to fall — the batter had scored 125 runs that included 16 hits to the fence and four massive sixes.

Sarfaraz touched on his ability to bat with the tail after the end of day’s play.

“I am now used to coming in to bat when we are 16/3 or 20/4. One has to spend time on the pitch but after lunch, it becomes easier as bowlers get tired. Then you can score quickly. I have also developed this habit to bat with the tail,” Sarfaraz said.

Earlier, Prithvi Shaw’s quest of making another century in the first session came a cropper after he was given out leg-before to a ball that was clearly missing the stumps. Shaw, who came into the match after amassing 379 against Assam, stayed at the pitch for over five seconds, giving a cold stare to umpire S Ravi before heading back to the pavilion.

Brief scores: Mumbai 293 all out in 79.3 overs (Sarfaraz 125, Shaw 40; Vijayran 4/66, Yogesh 2/61) vs Delhi; Punjab 302/5 in 90 overs (Anmolpreet 124, Wadhera 123* vs Madhya Pradesh; J&K 52/0 in 24 overs (Puri 29*) vs Tripura; Railways 327/8 in 88 overs (Vivek 108, Upendra 113; Sandeep 5/87) vs Chandigarh.