Rishabh Pant gives a bear hug to centurion Sarfaraz Khan moments after horrible mix-up, animated chat

Add as a preferred source on Google

Bengaluru, Oct 19: Nine balls after a massive mix-up into the middle and an animated chat between Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan, the latter gave a front-foot punch off Tim Southee towards the cover to get a boundary on Day four of the Bengaluru Test.

That wasn't just another boundary as the right-handed batter from Mumbai had already hit a dozen of those in his knock, but it certainly would be the one the 26-year-old would remember for the rest of his life. Reason? With that shot, Sarfaraz also slammed his maiden Test century.

What followed was the customary celebration from the Mumbaikar, he ran aloft with his bat and helmet held in the air. The crowd at M Chinnaswamy Stadium - which turned up in good numbers on a Saturday - erupted in joy and gave him a standing ovation for the knock came under pressure when his team needed the most. The century came of 109 deliveries for Sarfaraz.

However, amidst all this what stood out was the hug Sarfaraz received from his batting partner. The wicketkeeper-batter - who had an animated chat with him after the mix-up which could have cost Pant his wicket in a run-out in the previous over - gave a bear hug to his teammate on completing a memorable milestone in his career.

Pant - who was almost involved in a similar incident with Virat Kohli in the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh - was at the receiving end of it this time around as he was well short of the crease after Sarfaraz, already in the nineties, sent him back when the southpaw was coming back for a quick double.

Sarfaraz - who was a couple of steps outside the crease - started signalling Pant to go back but the Delhi cricketer wasn't watching him and kept heading towards the non-striker's end. Pant was almost halfway through the pitch when he turned back and ran towards the striker's end. Had wicketkeeper Tom Blundell not failed to throw at the stumps, the southpaw would have been a goner.

The duo stood in between for almost 30-40 odd seconds to have a word, clear the confusion and settle their nerves amidst animated chats. But things were sorted and the duo shifted their focus on the task at hand i.e. get their team in a commanding position as they were still trailing.