Watch: Sarfaraz Khan celebrates wildly after hitting Irani Cup century, sends message to Gautam Gambhir

Team India middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan made a strong return to the Mumbai team during the Irani Trophy match against the Rest of India. Sarfaraz Khan scored his 15th first-class century in the ongoing domestic red-ball match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, October 2.

Sarfaraz lost his spot in the middle order in the playing XI after KL Rahul's return to the Test squad. The young batter was part of the Duleep Trophy 2024 squad ahead of the first Test match. He was then released from the Indian squad for the second and final Test match against Bangladesh in Kanpur.

Mumbai Lost Three Wickets On Day 1 Of Irani Cup 2024

Rest of India captain Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and opted to field first. Mumbai lost three wickets quickly before Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer stabilized the innings with their half-centuries. Sarfaraz came to bat when Mumbai was at 139 runs for four wickets on the opening day of the match.

Rahane and Sarfaraz added 98 runs for the fifth wicket by the end of Day 1 and helped Mumbai reach 237 for 4. The batting duo added 43 runs before Rahane was dismissed by Yash Dayal for 97 runs on Day 2. They added a 141-run stand for the fifth wicket in the Mumbai first innings of the match.

Watch: Sarfaraz Khan Reached His 15th First-Class Century

Sarfaraz displayed patience at the crease and reached his century in the 92nd over of the innings. It was his 15th hundred in first-class cricket. The right-handed batter took his helmet off after reaching the milestone in the match. The video of the batter's celebration has gone viral on social media platforms.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) domestic's official handle shared the video of Sarfaraz's century on X (formerly Twitter). "THAT moment when Sarfaraz Khan brought up his 💯👏 A brilliant knock so far 🙌," wrote the caption.

Have a look at the celebrations by the Mumbai middle-order batter right here:

THAT moment when Sarfaraz Khan brought up his 💯👏

A brilliant knock so far 🙌#IraniCup | @IDFCFIRSTBank

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/Er0EHGOZKh pic.twitter.com/nEEJW2kea9

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) October 2, 2024

Sarfaraz Khan Has Been Struggling With Cramps

Senior sports journalist Amol Karhadkar stated that Sarfaraz has been dealing with cramps. The post added that the young cricketer has been struggling to score boundaries towards the on-side due to four fielders positioned on the boundary.

"He has been struggling with cramps. It's difficult for Sarfaraz Khan to breach the on-side ring - with four fielders on the boundary - employed by offie Saransh Jain. Sarfaraz instead chooses to emply reverse paddle and adds two more fours to his tally," a sports journalist wrote.

He has been struggling with cramps. It's difficult for Sarfaraz Khan to breach the on-side ring - with four fielders on the boundary - employed by offie Saransh Jain. Sarfaraz instead chooses to emply reverse paddle and adds two more fours to his tally #MUMvROI #IraniCup pic.twitter.com/kggbmT6WHI

— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) October 2, 2024

Sarfaraz made his long-awaited Test debut earlier this year against England during a five-match series at home. He scored 62 runs in his first innings and remained unbeaten on 68 in the second. The management backed KL Rahul instead of Sarfaraz for the subsequent series against Bangladesh.

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