• His previous appearance in a Test match was on January 11, 2019.
• Hosts were 110-4 in 28.4 overs before Sarfaraz and Babar Azam hit half-centuries.
• Sarfaraz returned to the starting lineup for the first Test of a two-match series.

Sarfaraz Ahmed, a former captain for Pakistan, has a top-three strike rate when bowling spin in Tests.

Sarfaraz returned to the starting lineup for the first Test of a two-match series against New Zealand on Monday. His previous appearance in a Test match was on January 11, 2019.

For the first game of the two-game series, the wicketkeeper batter took the place of Mohammad Rizwan.

For the longest format of the game since the year 2000, Sarfaraz has the third-best strike rate (82.34).

Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag, a former Indian opener, has the highest strike rate (92.92) when batting against spin.

The best strikers against spin in Tests. Sarfaraz among the top batters. #PakvNZ pic.twitter.com/92p45WBKA9

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) December 26, 2022

After Pakistan’s top-order fell, the hosts were 110-4 in 28.4 overs, but Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed rescued Pakistan and reached 317 at stumps on day 1.

Ajaz Patel sent Sarfaraz out to the pavilion for 86 runs off 153 balls, but Babar stayed at the crease until the end of the game.

Babar finished the first day with 161 runs off 277 balls, while Agha Salman remained unbeaten after scoring 3 runs off 16 balls.

At the end of the first day, the hosts had 317 for five on the board.

In 2017, under Sarfaraz’s leadership, Pakistan defeated archrivals India by 180 runs in the big final at The Oval to win their first ICC Champions Trophy.

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