Mumbai middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan made history on Wednesday as he scored a double hundred in the ongoing Irani Cup match against Rest of India in Bengaluru.
Sarfaraz reached the milestone in 254 balls to become the first Mumbai batter to score 200 runs in the tournament’s history. The previous highest score was Ramnath Patkar’s 195 against ROI in Pune in 1972.
The 26-year-old now averages 69.6 in first-class cricket which is the second highest behind Vijay Merchant’s 81.8 in India.
Mumbai near 500 on Day 2
He remained not out on 210 by the end of the second day’s play as Mumbai reached 484 for 8 by the 127th over to gain the upper hand in the match. The defending Ranji Trophy champions crossed the 500-run milestone three overs later.
Khan’s knock helped Mumbai recover from 139 for 4 after Shreyas Iyer’s 57. Khan shared a 131-run stand with his captain Ajinkya Rahane, who missed out on a hundred by 3 runs. Khan then added 183 for the 7th wicket with Tanish Kotian to consolidate Mumbai’s position.
turns into 2⃣0⃣0⃣
A sensational double century for Sarfaraz Khan✌️
He becomes the 1⃣st Mumbai player to score a double ton in #IraniCup
The celebrations say it all #IraniCup | @IDFCFIRSTBank
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/Er0EHGOZKh pic.twitter.com/225bDX7hhn
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) October 2, 2024
Sarfaraz arrives from Kanpur
The in-form Sarfaraz joined the Mumbai squad less than 24 hours before the start of the match as he was part of the Indian Test squad facing Bangladesh in Kanpur.
Khan, Dhruv Jurel and Yash Dayal were released from the national squad specifically for the Irani Cup. The trio is expected to be named in the upcoming 3-Test series against New Zealand at home starting October 16.
Musheer Khan misses out
Khan’s brother Musheer was also supposed to play for Mumbai in this match but he was unfortunately ruled out after a horrible accident while travelling to Lucknow from Azamgarh with his father.
The SUV in which both were travelling overturned on the Purvanchal Expressway. Musheer and his father Naushad both suffered minor injuries in the crash.
