Sarfaraz Khan Now Ahead Of Don Bradman In First Class Records After Irani Cup Ton

Sarfaraz Khan continued his outstanding red ball performance with another century, this time against Saurashtra in the Irani Cup, where he managed to hit 138 off 178 balls. This inning follows ones of 134 in the Ranji Trophy semifinal and 127 in the Duleep Trophy championship.

After Mukesh Kumar’s (4/23) swing and blistering pace from young guns Kuldeep Sen (3/41) and Umran Malik (3/25) destroyed the 2019–20 Ranji Trophy Champions for a meagre 98 in 24.5 overs, Sarfaraz’s unbeaten 125 off 126 balls brought the Rest of India to 205 for 3 at stumps. 

Sarfaraz Khan Goes Past Sir Don Bradman’s Record

Mumbaikar’s effort was so outstanding that Suryakumar Yadav, a teammate who watched the entire knock on television, even gave him a salute. Due to his steady performance, Khan’s stats also saw a significant increase. Despite needing seven more innings, he has more runs than the legendary Don Bradman.

Khan has 2928 runs in 29 games, compared to Bradman’s 2927 runs in 22 First Class matches. Additionally, he now has the second-best strike rate among first-class players, as Bradman continues to hold the top spot. 

Sarfaraz Khan now has one more run than the DON after 43 FC inns
Don Bradman 22 matches, 8 no, 2927 runs, ave 83.63, 100s: 12, 50s: 9
Sarfaraz Khan 29 matches, 7 no, 2928 runs, ave 81.33, 100s: 10, 50s: 8
Note: In his next match in Jan 1930, Bradman made a record unbeaten 452! https://t.co/7HPwPl72fz

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) October 2, 2022

Chetan Sharma, the head of the selectors, and Sunil Joshi, a teammate, were in attendance as Sarfaraz displayed his extensive repertoire of strokes, which included 19 boundaries and three sixes. 

While adding 185 for the unbroken fourth wicket with Hanuma Vihari, Sarfaraz, who entered the game when the Rest were in trouble at 18 for 3, delivered one of his best counterpunching knocks to rip the stuffing out of Saurashtra attack (62 batting off 145 balls). 

Sarfaraz’s innings was distinguished by the way he chose the length extremely early, which allowed him to play later. The way he played with domestic doyen Jaydev Unadkat was entertaining to see, despite the fact that he played some beautiful shots square of the wicket. 

Unadkat delivered two bouncers at varying velocities. He maintained his form to come beneath the delivery in the first one, then lifted it uppishly for a six. 

He moved his arms over to keep the pull shot down for a boundary on the next bouncer from the same position. 

The left-arm spinner Dharmendra Jadeja’s century came as a result of a late cut-off. Later, as Unadkat was forced to expand his field to stop boundaries, he repeatedly slog-swept Jadeja for three boundaries. 

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