Sarfaraz-Pant flourish redefines India Test batting

Bengaluru: Prithvi Shaw recently recalled having told teammates in the Mumbai dressing room to put their feet up once Sarfaraz Khan crossed 50 in the Irani Cup. Sarfaraz went on to score 221*. It took him four Test matches to get there, but the Mumbai run machine’s first 150 score in international cricket on Saturday added to his pile of 10 previous 150 or more scores in first-class cricket, three of them over 200 with one triple hundred.

Coming from Mumbai, a city which remains a conveyer belt for delivering India batters, Sarfaraz is a worthy addition. But as one could make out from many of his 18 fours and three sixes, he does it his way. International success for batters like Sarfaraz and Rishabh Pant – from a Delhi school that also produced the Virender Sehwag style – speaks of the emergence of varied batting styles like never before. They are able to access scoring areas in the field which were usually avoided, certainly in Test cricket.

Sarfaraz took the bait from the Kiwi bowlers on Saturday morning, continuing with his slices and glides despite the presence of a fly slip. Or Pant, whose response to New Zealand bringing the ‘keeper up to pacers to stop him from stepping out was to find another a way to score – steer it for boundaries in the third man region. Like the ramps and upper cuts played by Sarfaraz on Day 3 showed, accessing the reverse V is as much a scoring option for these batters like in T20s.

“The late cuts between the wicketkeeper and first slip were always there. But to score above the ‘keeper as Sarfaraz and Pant do is so brilliant to see. As a spectator, it brings you to your feet,” said Sunil Gavaskar, who scaled batting heights sticking to a copybook technique. “There have been orthodox cricketers. In Sarfaraz’s case, his unique style is refreshing. There is a certain cheekiness and innovativeness about his batting.”

This approach has been likened by many to Pakistan great Javed Miandad. Gavaskar, who played a lot against Miandad, said the comparison is limited to game awareness and being alert to where the fielders were. “Even when he is not getting boundaries, Sarfaraz is trying to get singles and twos by finding the gaps. That is similar to Miandad,” he said.

The scoring of Sarfaraz and Pant can be disruptive for the opposition, but they are fully aware of their strengths and limitations. The rising ball outside off-stump from William O’Rourke that caught KL Rahul’s outside edge, Sarfaraz would probably have ramped it over the ‘keeper.

“I am used to playing on bouncy wickets in my backyard. So, I enjoy facing tall bowlers. They were mostly bowling short to me. Therefore, I was playing in the third man region,” Sarfaraz explained.

Is facing a 6’4” international fast bowler the same as backyard cricket? That’s also a measure of the confidence in the new generation players.

“If they had bowled full, I would have scored straight. I was just batting on. I was not thinking where the runs were coming,” Sarfaraz said, when asked about not scoring enough in the V.

If Sarfaraz and Pant could cause mayhem for over three hours in a 177-run stand promising to turn the Test around, it was effective batting to the hilt. Pant would greet Rachin Ravindra’s left-arm delivery with a reverse sweep against the spin. Sarfaraz would paddle sweep Ajaz Patel almost half-blinded and it would still cross the fine leg boundary as intended. Even the bowler smiled in admiration.

Sarfaraz’s runs and the belated India success for Suryakumar Yadav may warrant redefining Mumbai’s batting philosophy, described as ‘khadoos’.

“Mumbai batting style was about being effective and not giving it away. That is what ‘khadoos’ was. The way Sarfaraz has batted, he has imbibed that,” said Gavaskar. “At the same time, while Mumbai batters would previously be more orthodox and on the technical style, Sarfaraz has shown that runs can be scored any which way and still be attractive and fun to watch.”

“I am thinking, Gill and Kohli at 3-4 and Rishabh-Sarfaraz at 5-6, the bowlers of the world will be scratching their head and go bald very quickly. You have the top four getting runs and there are Pant and Sarfaraz to follow, making fun of the bowlers with little glides, ramps and reverse sweeps. As a spectator, I am really looking forward to more of these partnerships,” Gavaskar said.