Pakistan’s senior player, Sarfaraz Ahmed was the happiest man today as he made his Test comeback against New Zealand.
New Zealand is currently on a tour of Pakistan and the first Test is underway between the two sides.
Sarfaraz is playing his 50th Test for his nation and he joked that his heartbeat was through the roof when he came out to bat.
The former Pakistan skipper also scored a valuable 86 runs that helped Pakistan save their innings from downfall against the Kiwis.
At the post-match press conference, Sarfaraz said that he is happy to have contributed crucial runs for Pakistan as they were in a tight spot during the game.
Sarfaraz comments on making his comeback in Test cricket
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 position was crunch.
Adds Sarfaraz,
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.
Unfortunately, Sarfaraz couldn’t capitalize on his innings as he got out to spinner Ajaz Patel in the 86th over which was also during the final session of play today.
His disappointment was evident during the press conference. He says,
I finally got an opportunity and I hope my today’s knock will help the team. Of course, it was disappointing not to get a century in my hometown, but the partnership with Babar was more important to me.
After the end of today’s play, Pakistan has scored 317/5 and they still have skipper Babar Azam at the crease.
Babar has made 161* from 277 balls. Pakistan will look to get their score past 400 so as to be able to put pressure on the Kiwi side.
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