Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant have forged a formidable partnership to lead India's fightback on day four of the 1st IND vs NZ Test in Bengaluru on Saturday. The hosts have racked up 344 for the loss of three wickets at lunch on day four after some early contributions for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. (Match Blog | Scorecard)
The runs started to flow from Sarfaraz and Rishabh's bat as they kept the Kiwis toiling hard in the outfield. However, Tom Latham's side missed a golden chance to run out Rishabh but thanks to Sarfaraz's animated intervention, the former was back in the crease.
After playing a late cut off Matt Henry, Sarfaraz ran for a single but Pant wanted a second. Sarfaraz noted that New Zealand fielder Devon Conway had collected the ball and threw it immediately at keeper Tom Blundell. Pant did not notice and ran only for Sarfaraz's animated 'cry' that he made it back safely.
Indian commentator Ravi Shastri took a note and said, “Sarfaraz Khan is doing a Rain Dance here.”
Speaking of the Test, Rain halted India’s charge as Sarfaraz scored maiden unbeaten century combined with Rishabh Pant's 53 not out as the hosts put themselves in a strong position of 344/3, trailing by 12 runs on day four of the opening Test against New Zealand on Saturday.
Brief scores at Lunch on day four:
India 46 & 344/3 in 71 overs (Rohit Sharma 52, Virat Kohli 70, Sarfaraz Khan 125*, Rishabh Pant 53*; Ajaz Patel 2/100) trail New Zealand 402 by 12 runs.
