IND vs NZ 1st Test: Sarfaraz Khan Redeems Himself From Duck in First Innings With Maiden Century

Sarfaraz Khan on Saturday (October 19) redeemed himself from the first innings duck with his maiden international century during the 1st Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Sarfaraz, who was included in the playing 11 in place of Shubman Gill, had registered a 3-ball duck in the first innings as India were bowled out for 46 in the first innings.

The middle-order batter, however, bounced back in style, scoring a brisk century as India took to the counter attack in response to New Zealand's 402. Sarfaraz started with an overnight score of 70 and raced to three figures in quick time on day 4.

By scoring his first hundred, Sarfaraz became the 22nd Indian to score a duck and a hundred in the same Test with the most recent being Shubman Gill against Bangladesh in Chennai last month.

The only other Indian batter to score a duck and a hundred against New Zealand was Shikhar Dhawan, who had scored 0 and 115 at the Eden Park in Auckland ten years ago in 2014.

Sarfaraz came into the Test on the back of big runs in the domestic circuit. The 26-year-old had smashed an unbeaten 222 for Mumbai against Rest of India in the Irani Cup match earlier this month.

Despite scoring heavily in the recent seasons, Sarfaraz only earned his call up to the national side earlier this year during the home Test series against England. The right-handed batter had impressed with three fifties in five innings.

Now, he finally got the chance to reach the three-figure mark in international cricket, having scored 15 centuries in 76 innings of first-class cricket. He has also scored 14 fifties in FC.

Sarfaraz has taken aggressive approach whenever he is out to bat. He reached his milestone also with a boundary. He has hit 3 sixes and 14 fours in his knock. The youngster first shared a stand with Virat Kohli to reach fifty and then shared a stand with Rishabh Pant to go past hundred.

Having reached his century in IND vs NZ 1st Test, Sarfaraz celebrated in his trade mark fashion. With this knock, he makes a case for being a regular member in the playing 11, and has also given India hope of pulling off an impossible win in the Bengaluru Test.