'Duleep Trophy Days Are Back': Sarfaraz Shares Insights From His Epic 177-Run Partnership With Pant

Day 4 action was memorable for Sarfaraz Khan as he secured his maiden hundred in front of a passionate Chinnaswamy Crowd. Not only did he score his first Test hundred, but he also helped in making a rescue effort for Team India. Alongside Rishabh Pant , he developed a clinical partnership to help India secure the lead. After Day 4, Sarfaraz opened up on his conversations with Pant as they batted for the Indian Cricket Team.

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Sarfaraz Khan Reveals His Conversation With Rishabh Pant During Epic Partenership

At the post-match press conference after Day 4 play in Bengaluru, Sarfaraz Khan opened up on the conversations he had with Rishabh Pant as they stitched up a partnership to help Team India gain the lead over New Zealand. The Mumbai batter revealed that he and Pant discussed their strategy and also reminisced about their Duleep Trophy days. Both of them were eager to hit big and launch a counter-attack like they used to do in the past to derail NZ's momentum with the ball.

"We both play attacking cricket. A few days ago, we played a Duleep Trophy match here. We had to counter-attack in the second innings. We had to score runs and then give them the fight. So we were discussing that the Duleep Trophy days are back, so let's do it again, and then we went on to play attacking cricket," Sarfaraz said.

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Team India looked in deep trouble after they lost openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma . In-form Virat Kohli delivered a 70-run innings before being dismissed. But he stitched a crucial partnership with Sarfaraz Khan in an attempt to offer India the edge. After Kohli went down, Rishabh Pant came in to take the spot, and both batters went on to deliver a supreme partnership for the Men in Blue.

Sarfaraz and Rishabh notched up a 177-run partnership as they faced a dominant New Zealand bowling attack and helped India pick up the lead. Team India went on to score 400+ runs, and NZ now has a target of 107 runs to win after the Men in Blue suffered a collapse after the Pant-Sarfaraz partnership broke. With 107 to pursue, the game is still very much in the balance as India tries to hold onto their lead and pull off something spectacular in the Bengaluru Test.