Sarfaraz Khan got off to a bumper start to his Test career as he cracked 62 runs in 66 balls in his debut innings, against England in Rajkot in the third Test of the ongoing series.
The unavailability of Virat Kohli, poor form of Shreyas Iyer, and the injury to KL Rahul paved the way for the Test debut of Sarfaraz Khan, the man who averaged 69 in first-class cricket coming into his first game for India.
The 26-year-old came into his debut Test with a jaw-dropping first-class average of 69 after 45 first-class matches and showed the world his mettle and charisma by creaming 9 fours and a six. A dreamy maiden century seemed in the offing but it couldn’t happen as he got run out on 62.
Nonetheless, he sparkled with his strokeplay and announced himself on the world stage in India colors in the ultimate format.
Sarfaraz Khan raised his half-century in 48 balls, which is now the joint-second-fastest fifty for an Indian batsman on Test debut.
Check out the list of top 5 fastest fifty for Indian batters on debut:
Yuvraj of Patiala – 42 balls vs England, 1934
Yadavenadrasingh (Yuvraj of Patiala) holds the record for the fastest half-century by an Indian batsman on Test debut. In the 1934 India vs England Test in Chennai, Yadavenadrasingh smashed a 42-ball half-century. India still lost the match by 202 runs. That was the only Test he played.
Sarfaraz Khan – 48 balls vs England, 2024, Hardik Pandya – 48 balls vs Sri Lanka, 2017
Sarfaraz and Hardik Pandya are joint-second on this list with 48-ball half-centuries. Sarfaraz did it against England in Rajkot while Hardik clobbered the Sri Lankans on his Test debut in 2017 in Galle. Hardik hit 5 fours and 3 sixes in his innings, while Sarfaraz hit 9 fours and a six in his 62-run knock.
Shikhar Dhawan – 50 balls vs Australia, 2013
Dhawan had one of the most memorable Test debuts among Indian batters against Australia in 2013 in Mohali. Australia scored 408 in their first innings and Dhawan came out all guns blazing. The left-hander raised his fifty in 50 balls and went on to score 187 runs in 174 balls, which eventually helped India win the game by 6 wickets.
Prithvi Shaw – 56 balls vs West Indies, 2018
It’s uncertain what will become of Prithvi Shaw’s Test career but the Mumbai batsman will always have a ballistic Test debut in 2018 against West Indies in Rajkot. Batting first, Shaw smashed 134 runs in 154 balls and had brought up his fifty in 56 balls. India won by an innings and 272 runs.
The moment Sarfaraz Khan completed his maiden fifty.
– The emotions from his father & wife was beautiful 👌pic.twitter.com/G2rSI8BSyV
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 15, 2024
Also Read: IND vs ENG: Ravindra Jadeja Accepted His Mistake And Apologised To Sarfaraz Khan
