- Sarfaraz Ahmed played a valiant 86 off 153 balls in his 50th Test game.
- Sarfraz Ahmed replaced Rizwan to make his first Test debut in over four years.
- Ahmed and Babar Azam put on 196 runs for the fifth wicket.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, a former captain of Pakistan, shone against New Zealand with a valiant 86 off 153 balls in his 50th Test game and first at home.
Ahmed, who replaced Mohammad Rizwan to make his first Test debut in over four years, and Babar had a massive 196-run partnership for the fifth wicket that lasted 56.3 overs, giving Pakistan the upper hand and demoralising New Zealand.
Sarfaraz made light of the fact that when he prepared to bat, his heart rate was through the roof.
“When I played my first three balls, if you would have measured my heartbeat, the meter would have broken. My heart was beating too fast. It was not like I was debuting, I was making a comeback and the position was crunch,” Ahmed was quoted as saying.
Performing on his Test return 🙌
🗣️ @SarfarazA_54 opens up about his comeback and the remarkable partnership with @babarazam258 #PAKvNZ | #TayyariKiwiHai pic.twitter.com/GdhPg8drZP
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 26, 2022
“Babar gave me a lot of confidence and as a senior player the way he talked me through the pressure gave me a lot of confidence,” Ahmed said.
The right-hander, who edged spinner Ajaz Patel in the 86th over of the match late in the last session of play, was upset not to have turned his innings into a century.
“I finally got an opportunity and I hope my today’s knock will help the team,” Sarfaraz said. “Of course it was disappointing not to get a century in my hometown, but the partnership with Babar was more important to me.”
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