Sarfaraz Khan Sends Strong Message To Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar With Maiden T20 Ton Ahead Of IND vs SA T20Is

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025: Overlooked Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan played a match-winning century, helping Mumbai to clinch a 98-run win over Assam in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025, at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, on Tuesday, December 2.

It was also Sarfaraz Khan's maiden T20 century, which came from 47 balls. With days left before the start of the five-match T20I series between India and South Africa, Sarfaraz Khan has sent a strong message to Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar.

Earlier in the match, Assam won the toss and decided to bowl against Mumbai.

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Sarfaraz Khan's Century Powers Mumbai To 220/4

In the first innings, Ayush Mhatre (21 runs from 15 balls, 3 fours and 1 six) and Ajinkya Rahane (42 runs from 33 balls, 6 fours) opened for Mumbai and cemented a 34-run partnership. However, Sarfaraz Khan's unbeaten knock guided Mumbai to 220/4 in the first innings. During his time on the crease, Sarfaraz hammered eight fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 212.77.

Assam's bowling attack displayed a sluggish performance as they failed to take wickets at crucial hours.

During the run chase, Sibsankar Roy (41 runs from 33 balls, seven fours) was the lone star batter for Assam; no other could perform on the crease.

Captain Shardul Thakur led the Mumbai attack with his five-wicket haul from three overs at an economy rate of 7.67. Sairaj Patil and Atharva Ankolekar also picked two wickets each in their respective spells and restricted Assam to 122, clinching a 98-run victory in Lucknow.

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Sarfaraz Khan's Stats In T20S

However, Sarfaraz Khan's performance in the first innings has been the talking point. The middle-order batter played 97 T20S and 75 innings, scoring 1288 runs at a strike rate of 132.37 and an average of 24.30.

In the IPL 2024 and 2025 seasons, Sarfaraz Khan did not feature in any franchises. However, Sarfaraz's performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 showed his potential in the T20S.