Sarfaraz and Pant in a pickle at the middle of the crease (X)
Sarfaraz’s animated SOS call caught everyone’s attention, with commentator Ravi Shastri taking note of the same and stating, “Sarfaraz Khan is doing a Rain Dance here.”
It was business as usual for firecrackers Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant who wreaked havoc on the New Zealand bowling order with their fiery play.
But, the duo also showed that it is possible to have a bit of fun even in the midst of a heated battle, as they were involved in a funny run-out scare, where Sarfaraz Khan broke into a ‘rain dance’ at the crease to stop his teammate Pant from taking the extra run.
When asked about the incident, Sarfaraz recalled his hilarious thought process behind the moment in an unabashedly honest manner.
“We all know that Rishabh (Pant) had injured his knee earlier. So, we wanted to be mindful of our running between the wickets,” stated Sarfaraz at the post-math presser.
“I played a late cut and had called for two runs instinctively. It was only later whilst running that I remembered about his knee.”
Arrey Pant ee..Pant eeMiscommunication between Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan & Indian team’s crazy reaction.Just look at the reaction of Sarfaraz, he tried everything to stop Rishabh, Khan’s dancing in middle of the pitch during run out confusion#INDvNZL #INDvsNZ #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/WSAhGjNSX7— Chicku Irshad~ (@chickukottaram) October 19, 2024
It was a close shave but Sarfaraz’s animated SOS call caught everyone’s attention, with commentator Ravi Shastri taking note of the same and stating, “Sarfaraz Khan is doing a Rain Dance here.”
“So, after I was done with the first run, I put my hands up and started yelling at him to not take the second. But, he did not see me whilst running back, so that’s why there was a bit of confusion in the moment. Thank God he noticed me in the last moment,” Sarfaraz stated with a sheepish smile.
Sarfaraz and Pant though ravaged through the NZ bowlers, notching a fine 177-run partnership to help India steer clear of trouble and take the lead over the visitors.
Sarfaraz notched up his maiden Test century, and would go on to put up a mammoth 150 runs of his own before departing from the crease.
With his feat, he became the 3rd Indian batsman in Test history to score a duck and 150 in the same Test.
Despite their best efforts, India could manage to only save face, putting up a meagre target of 107 runs for the Kiwis to chase in the final innings of the match.
