"Playing such a shot..."- Sunil Gavaskar slams Sarfaraz Khan using Don Bradman's reference

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at young Sarfaraz Khan for the way he got out in the ongoing fifth Test against England in Dharamsala. He recalled Sir Don Bradman’s words and said that right-hander should’ve had a little sighter. 

India batter Sarfaraz Khan was one of the key performers for the team on Day 2 of the ongoing fifth Test against England. He played a vital hand for the team and helped them get a big first innings lead, outplaying the opposition completely out of the game. 

Sarfaraz Khan came to bat after India lost Rohit Sharma (103) and Shubman Gill (110) in quick succession of time. The batter steadied the ship and made sure that England didn’t take the momentum. He negotiated the tricky phase well and once he was in, he made a mockery of the bowlers. 

Sarfaraz Khan brought his aggressive best after getting settled and played shots all over the ground. He targeted Mark Wood in particular and then put the pacer under pressure. The batter raced away to his half-century and made sure that side didn’t waste the start provided by the top three. 

Sarfaraz Khan got out on the very first delivery after the tea. He tried to play the late cut off Shoaib Bashir’s ball but couldn’t find the gap as he handed a straight catch to Joe Root at lone slip. 

Sunil Gavaskar wasn’t amazed by the way Sarfaraz Khan got out. He said that the ball wasn’t there for the shot that the batter attempted. He recalled Don Bradman’s words and stated on air: 

“The ball was pitched up; it wasn’t short enough for that shot. Goes for it and pays the price. I mean you are playing the first ball after tea. Give yourself a little sighter. Don Bradman said to me ‘Every ball that I face, even if I am on 200, I think I am on 0.’ And here is [Sarfaraz] is… playing such a shot first ball of the session.” 

Sarfaraz Khan ended with an innings of 56 runs off 60 balls. He hit 8 boundaries and 1 six in his innings. This was his third fifty-plus score in Test cricket. He hit half-centuries in both the innings of his debut game in Rajkot. 

“It made no sense” – Sunil Gavaskar on Dhruv Jurel’s dismissal 

Sunil Gavaskar also wasn’t impressed with the way Dhruv Jurel got out. The keeper-batter came down the track early in his innings and was caught in deep while attempting a six. He managed just 15 runs off 24 balls. 

According to Sunil Gavaskar, the shot that Dhruv Jurel “made no sense” and the keeper-batter could’ve avoided it. Overall, India had a great day with the bat. Rohit Sharma (103) and Shubman Gill (110) slammed tons whereas Devdutt Padikkal (65) also shined on debut. 

Jasprit Bumrah 19 runs off 55 balls Kuldeep Yadav (27*) remained unbeaten at stumps on Day 2. India ended the Day with 473/8 and is 255 runs ahead. They would be hoping to take the lead past 300 runs and bundle out England as early as possible.