The quarter-final match between Mumbai and Uttarakhand at the Ranji Trophy saw some fine batting by debutant Suved Parkar and Sarfaraz Khan. The duo added 267 runs for the fourth wicket as Mumbai piled a gigantic 647/8 before declaring their second innings, leaving their opponent on backfoot.
Parkar slammed a double century, making him the 12th man to achieve the feat in his maiden outing at the prestigious domestic event. Sarfaraz, on the other hand, hit 153 before losing his wicket in the form of a run-out.
Sarafaraz has always been a star performer for the Mumbai outfit. In the 2019-20 season he scored 928 runs for a whopping average of nearly 155, which included an unbeaten 301.
In a recent chat with ESPNCricinfo, Sarfaraz reminisced the stellar show, which was also the year he returned to Mumbai after spending a significant amount of time in Uttar Pradesh.
"When I hit that triple-hundred, I was on 132 against UP [at the end of the third day], and I saw my photo in the paper the next day, that Ranji Trophy was written on my chest and I was celebrating my century. It got kind of addictive after that. It was my dream - lifting my bat and helmet in the Mumbai jersey - and that's not going to go anywhere. That motivates me a lot," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"When I hit that triple-hundred, I was on 132 against UP [at the end of the third day], and I saw my photo in the paper the next day, that Ranji Trophy was written on my chest and I was celebrating my century. It got kind of addictive after that. It was my dream - lifting my bat and helmet in the Mumbai jersey - and that's not going to go anywhere. That motivates me a lot," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Ever since his homecoming from Uttar Pradesh, the 24-year-old batter has been enjoying good outing. He has over 1600 runs from 14 innings, while the next best is 1158 and his average touches 150. His strike-rate of just over 75 look decent for red-ball matches and has hit 184 fours and 35 sixes.