Sarfaraz Khan on Wednesday (January 22) achieved a First-Class milestone in a style despite not being well for the game, as he slammed his maiden triple century in first-class cricket to help Mumbai to draw their Ranji Trophy 2019-20 match against the Uttar Pradesh at Wankhede Stadium.

The right-hander took 388 balls to reach the three-figure mark (301*), hitting 30 fours and six sixes to become the only second after Karun Nair to hit triple hundred in the Ranji Trophy history.

His record innings helped Mumbai to overhaul Uttar Pradesh's first-innings mammoth score of 625/8 declared and draw their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match to take three points on Wednesday.

Read Also: WATCH - Sarfaraz Khan emulates Virender Sehwag by hitting a six to reach his 300

He also became only the 7th Mumbai batsman to hit a triple hundred in Ranji Trophy, joining an elite list of the state player likes Sunil Gavaskar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Wasim Jaffer (2), Rohit Sharma, Vijay Merchant, and Ajit Wadekar.

Sarfaraz came to bat for Mumbai despite suffering from a bout of illness two nights ago, as the young gun felt he could change the course of the game and he did it for his side.

The 22-year-old said, “I wasn't going to come out to bat. I wasn't well for the last two-three days. I was having a fever and a cough. But I felt that I should go out to bat. I felt that I was the kind of player who could change the game if I remained in the middle. So I came out and played for the team.”

He further added on his innings, “I didn't think I would be able to go all the way. When I got to 250, I felt I should declare (retire), but the team backed me a lot. After I got to 200, I slowed down. I did not hit a boundary for an hour until tea after I went past 200, my aim was that we had to go past 625.”

Meanwhile, Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare said Sarfaraz has worked really hard on his batting and now he is an improved cricketer who can win matches for the side batting at No.5 and 6. Tare signed off by saying, “He (Sarfaraz) always had talent. He works really hard on his batting. He is always practicing and prepares himself well. He is a cricketer who improves.”

(With PTI Inputs)