Indian cricketer Sarfaraz Khan made his Indian cap a memorable one as he scored a fifty on debut on day one of the third Test match against England in Rajkot. The 26-year-old achieved the feat off 48-deliveries as tucked away a Tom Hartley delivery for a single. (Scorecard | IND Vs ENG Blog | Cricket News)
Sarfaraz walked in the 63rd over of the day when centurion Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 131 by Mark Wood. At that time, India were 237/4 and were in rebuilding phase. However, Sarfaraz slammed eight boundaries and one six as he put the pressure back on the English bowlers.
The Mumbai batter added 50-plus partnership with Ravindra Jadeja for the fifth wicket. By slamming the fifty, Sarfaraz also became the joint second-fastest Indian cricketer to achieve the feat on debut. He has joined Hardik Pandya, who slammed fifty off 48 balls against Sri Lanka back in 2017.
Yuvraj of Patiala sits atop the list with a 42-ball fifty against England in 1934.
Fastest fifties on men's Test debut for India:
42 - Yuvraj of Patiala vs ENG, 1934
48 - Hardik Pandya vs SL, 2017
48 - Sarfaraz Khan vs ENG, 2024
50 - Shikhar Dhawan vs AUS, 2013
56 - Prithvi Shaw vs WI, 2018
(Courtesy - ESPNCricinfo)
Earlier, the 26-year-old had received his maiden cap from former Indian captain Anil Kumble ahead of the 3rd Test between India and England in Rajkot on Thursday, February 15.
He became the 311th player to make his debut for Team India in Tests.
Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
