Sarfaraz Khan's emotional journey comes full circle: From a Replacement to contender for first XI

Sarfaraz Khan tore his helmet away and roared like a gladiator as his backfoot punch off Tim Southee touched the ropes. The unbridled celebration was after his emotionally-layered maiden Test hundred, but it was also a statement.

Sarfaraz was loudly telling the world that he is no longer a replacement, but a firm contender for a slot in the first eleven even when Shubman Gill's stiff neck is healed.

It would have been the moment Sarfaraz and his cricket tragic father Naushad was hoping to see when they started the journey in the modest maidans of Mumbai.

Sarfaraz has not forgotten those days either – a stingy childhood and travelling to nets at Shivaji Park in a crammed Mumbai local.

“I talk to my father quite often since he keeps me motivated all the time. I felt good since it was my maiden century playing for India. It has been a dream for me since childhood. Extremely happy,” Sarfaraz almost choked on words during the post-day press meet.

Touching his dream point was not easy either.

The 26-year-old had to survive body-shaming for his rotund figure and social media’s holier-than-thou judgment of his finger-pointing celebration one time.

Perhaps, it made him walk through his catharsis and taught him to value life and cricket better.

“I always keep this in mind that tomorrow is uncertain. It's happened in the past that while thinking about tomorrow, my present was hampered. So, I try to stay in the present,” he opened up his philosophical side.

But it cleverly masked his cricketing smarts, acquired from the highly practical world of Mumbai cricket.

It reflected in the way he handled strapping New Zealand pacer William O’Rourke.

O’Rourke hit the hard lengths and tried to bounce out Sarfaraz as he did against Virat Kohli .

But the Mumbai man used late or upper cuts to nullify those grunt balls from the Kiwi.

He plays those shots in a peculiar manner – a static foot giving him balance while quick hands send the ball into the wide arc between point and deep third man.

It has no mention in a coaching manual but is effective as evidenced by his success on this day.

Out of the 150, he scored 83 runs on the off-side and in that 58 flowed through the aforementioned region.

“I like playing the balls that rise high. I have a bouncy wicket back at home (Mumbai), and I play regularly there, and the bounce easily allows me to cut it.

“They (Kiwis) were trying to ball short at me outside the off, and I simply played accordingly. It was fun,” Sarfaraz explained.

But for O’Rourke it was not fun as Sarfaraz carted him for 39 runs off 35 balls with six fours.

The Kiwi admitted it candidly.

“He played me really well. With that angle of me sort of falling away, it opens up that little dab shot. We thought maybe we could have been in the game a little bit, but he played it so well.

“Obviously, one of his strengths is that (late cut). So, I would have liked to be a little bit tighter, but I was missing a little bit wide (of off-stump) and he put me away. So, credit to him,” said O’Rourke.

Sarfaraz displayed his maturity while shielding Rishabh Pant , with whom he added 177 runs for fourth wicket, during the early part of their association.

Pant was reeling a bit from that blow to his knee and was struggling to find his range initially.

Hence, Sarfaraz fronted up more to New Zealand pacers in the first hour and waited till the visitors introduced spinners to give more strike to his partner.

“I was trying to give Pant the strike while the left-arm spinners were bowling. I knew he would be hitting them out. We were trying to create pressure from both ends for the bowlers as I was also countering the pace attack well,” he chuckled.

But New Zealand are just 107 runs away from a Test victory in India after 36 years after taking seven wickets for 54 runs to bundle out India for 462.

Sarfaraz has not given up hope.

“It is not an easy wicket to bat on. I don't think the game is out of our hands yet. The ball is still cutting in and out.

“So, if we manage to get two to three wickets of theirs (NZ's) early on, even they could be in a similar situation (collapse),” he chimed in.

After all, who knows better than Sarfaraz the value of not losing hope.