'Dreams don't come true that quickly': Sarfaraz Khan after blistering 157 off 75 balls
Batting at No. 4, Sarfaraz Khan blasted nine fours and 14 sixes, bringing up his hundred off just 56 balls. His innings left Goa’s bowlers and fielders looking shellshocked. On Wednesday, he delivered it with a sledgehammer, scoring a blistering 157 off 75 balls to power Mumbai to a 87-run victory over Goa at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground.
Sarfaraz Khan (Image credit: X)
JAIPUR: For months now, Sarfaraz Khan has lived with the noise — whispers about ‘missed chances’, stopstart opportunities and a nagging sense that he needed a statement knock. On Wednesday, he delivered it with a sledgehammer, scoring a blistering 157 off 75 balls to power Mumbai to a 87-run victory over Goa at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground.
The fourth straight win kept Mumbai on top of the Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group C table and ended Goa’s threematch winning streak.All eyes were on Yashasvi Jaiswal but it was Sarfaraz who stole the afternoon show. Riding on his brutal hitting, Mumbai posted a staggering 444/8, a total that effectively decided the contest by the interval. Goa fought hard and crossed 350 but the chase was always a bridge too far despite Abhinav Tejrana’s 100.
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Jaiswal, back after acute gastroenteritis, made 46 before he fell trying to force the pace. Sarfaraz’s younger brother Musheer Khan then shaped the innings with a fluent 60, keeping the board moving and setting up the launchpad. Sarfaraz took over from there and turned the game into a highlights reel.Batting at No. 4, he blasted nine fours and 14 sixes, bringing up his hundred off just 56 balls. His innings left Goa’s bowlers and fielders looking shellshocked.
“When I came in, the run-rate wasn’t too high because both openers saw off the tricky first hour,” Sarfaraz told TOI. “It’s always difficult in the morning when the ball is doing a bit. I settled down first and then attacked as the pitch eased out. The plan was to score as many runs as possible and set a strong target.”He also underlined how the platform helped him explode. “By the time I came to the crease, Musheer was batting really well.
He was the first to reach fifty,” Sarfaraz said. “I’ve played plenty of one-dayers and I know how to pace an innings. I have a good sweep and cut, and in this format you can’t have more than five fielders out. That gives me freedom to play my shots.”Despite the dream knock, Sarfaraz admitted he had one regret. “We have a common dream of scoring hundreds in the same game,” he said. “We were close in the Ranji Trophy this season and again last week, but we both got out in the fifties.
Today, Musheer was batting so well and I thought we could do it. But dreams don’t come true that quickly.”BRIEF SCORES: Mumbai 444/8 in 50 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 157 off 75 balls; Musheer Khan 60; Hardik Tamore 53; Yashasvi Jaiswal 46; Darshan Misal 3/98, V Koushik 2/60, Lalit Yadav 2/93) beat Goa 357/9 in 50 overs (Abhinav Tejrana 100; Deepraj Gaonkar 70; Lalit Yadav 64; Shardul Thakur 3/20, Yashasvi Jaiswal 2/52) by 87 runs.