Sarfaraz Khan slays demons in Bengaluru in style

Khan's emotional journey comes a full circle: Replacement to contender among first 11

NT Correspondent Bengaluru Sarfaraz Khan tore his helmet away and roared like a gladiator as his backfoot punch off Tim Southee touched the ropes. The unbridled celebration was after his emotionally-layered maiden Test hundred, but it was also a statement. Sarfaraz was loudly telling the world that he is no longer a replacement, but a firm contender for a slot in the first eleven even when Shubman Gill's stiff neck is healed. It would have been the moment Sarfaraz and his cricket tragic father Naushad was hoping to see when they started the journey in the modest maidans of Mumbai. Sarfaraz has not forgotten those days either – a stingy childhood and travelling to nets at Shivaji Park in a crammed Mumbai local. “I talk to my father quite often since he keeps me motivated all the time. I felt good since it was my maiden century playing for India. It has been a dream for me since childhood. Extremely happy,” Sarfaraz almost choked on words during the post-day press meet. Touching his dream point was not easy either.

Th e 2 6 - ye a rold had to survive body-shaming for his rotund figure and social media's holier-than-thou judgment of his finger-pointing celebration one time. Perhaps, it made him walk through his catharsis and taught him to value life and cricket better. “I always keep this in mind that tomorrow is uncertain. It's happened in the past that while thinking about tomorrow, my present was hampered. So, I try to stay in the present,” he opened up his philosophical side. But it cleverly masked his cricketing smarts, acquired from the highly practical world of Mumbai cricket. It reflected in the way he handled strapping New Zealand pacer William O'Rourke. Out of the 150, he scored 83 runs on the offside and in that 58 flowed through the aforementioned region.

But New Zealand are just 107 runs away from a Test victory in India after 36 years after taking seven wickets for 54 runs to bundle out India for 462. Sarfaraz has not given up hope. “It is not an easy wicket to bat on. I don't think the game is out of our hands yet. The ball is still cutting in and out. “So, if we manage to get two to three wickets of theirs (NZ's) early on, even they could be in a similar situation (collapse),” he chimed in. After all, who knows better than Sarfaraz the value of not losing hope.