Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan on Thursday (23rd June) dedicated his century in the Ranji Trophy 2022 final against Madhya Pradesh in Bengaluru to his father. He also revealed that his celebration after reaching the milestone was for late Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
Sarfaraz continued his rich vein of form in the final of the Ranji Trophy 2022 again Madhya Pradesh. The right-hander came to bat when Mumbai were 147/3. He held one end and kept ticking the scorecard when the Prithvi Shaw-led side lost wickets at regular intervals.
Sarfaraz rose on the big occasion and scored 134 runs in 243 balls and helped his side post a first-innings total of 374 runs on the board. With his knock, he has now scored 937 runs in this season of the Ranji Trophy at a staggering average of 133.85.
While his knock made many applaud him, his celebration after reaching the ton was quite animated as he punched the air and roared in joy before he slapped his thigh.
Talking about his knock Sarfaraz Khan dedicated his ton to his father. He said that the runs he has scored in the last two seasons since his comeback is all because of his dad.
“This hundred is because of my abbu (father), his sacrifices and holding my hand when I could have been down and out. In our lives, it’s about all those little dreams that we harbour.
“The dreams that we (he and his dad) have dreamt together. The nearly 2000 runs that I have scored in two seasons since my Mumbai comeback is because of my ‘abbu’," Sarfaraz Khan said.
Sarfaraz said that had his father not been there his career would’ve been finished by now. He talked about the struggle his family faced and said that watching his dad happy made his day.
“Aap sab toh jaante ho mere saath kya kya huwa. Abbu na rahte toh main khatm ho jataa (You all know what I have gone through and had my father not been there, I would have been finished by now).
“There has been so much of struggle and when I think how my dad dealt with all of it, I get emotional. He didn’t leave my hand even once. My brother put up a status on his cell phone and I could see Abbu so happy. It made my day," he said.
Sarfaraz also revealed that his thigh-five celebration was for Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen in his village last month. He said that he had done the celebration after his previous ton but the game was not televised or streamed, so he decided he would repeat the celebration again once he scores another ton.
Read Also: WATCH- Sarfaraz Khan makes 134 against MP in final; celebrates with Sidhu Moosewala signature pose
“This was for Sidhu Moosewala. I love his songs and mostly me and Hardik Tamore (keeper) listen to his songs. I did a similar kind of celebration during an earlier match also (in his memory), but then, Hotstar didn’t show it. I had decided once I score another hundred, I would repeat the celebration," he said.
Sarfaraz rated his knock as the best ever in the Ranji Trophy and revealed that his aim was not to throw his wicket away.
“This is my best ever knock in Ranji Trophy as this is the final and it came when the team was in a troublesome situation. We were losing wickets at regular intervals. My aim was that whatever happens, I will not throw my wicket away even if it means I will have to play 300 balls. More balls I play, the bigger my knocks will be," he said.
Sarfaraz concluded by saying that his side needs to be disciplined on day two and they are confident about getting the first-innings lead.
“We need to be a bit more disciplined tomorrow but I can tell you that the game is far from over. And don’t forget, they will have to bat last on this track. In any case, we are very confident that we will get first-innings lead but, if somehow, we miss the first-innings lead, we will get them in fourth innings," he concluded.
(PTI inputs)
