"Hope he scores a double hundred here too" - Kuldeep Yadav wants Sarfaraz Khan to repeat Irani Cup heroics in IND vs NZ 2024 1st Test

Team India's left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is hoping that Sarfaraz Khan can score a double hundred in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru just like he did for Mumbai in the Irani Cup. He also praised Sarfaraz as a batter who does not allow bowlers to settle down.

Sarfaraz (70*), Virat Kohli (70) and Rohit Sharma (52) led India's fightback in the Bengaluru Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The hosts went to stumps on Day 3 in their second innings on Friday, October 18 at 231-3. They still trail the Kiwis by 125 runs, with seven wickets in hand.

With Kohli and Rohit back in the hut, India will have high hopes from Sarfaraz on Day 4 as they look to set New Zealand a challenging fourth-innings target. Speaking after the end of play on Friday, Kuldeep admitted that the hosts are banking on Sarfaraz to convert his fifty into a big knock. He said (as quoted by PTI):

“We enjoy his [Sarfaraz] batting a lot. You saw how he scored a 200 in the Irani Cup. I hope he scores a double hundred here too... He doesn’t allow the spinners to settle down. He counter-attacked the left-arm spinner [Ajaz Patel], and they had to bring in a fast bowler from one end."

Sarfaraz smashed an unbeaten 222 in the Irani Cup earlier this month as Mumbai beat the Rest of India on the first-innings lead to be declared winners.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep asserted that India can still make a match out of the Bengaluru Test if they have enough runs to defend since there is turn on offer.

“The spinners were getting some help when we were bowling, and hopefully, we will get more spin on Day 5. But for that, we need a good total to defend. Considering our bowling attack, we will be aiming at setting an effective target. We can't predict a proper total right now as a lot of batting is still left for us," he stated.

India suffered a big setback just before stumps on Day 3 in Bengaluru as Kohli was dismissed by Glenn Phillips off the last ball. The former India captain and Sarfaraz had added 136 runs for the third wicket.

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"Hope he doesn't bat so well in the remaining contests against us" - Kuldeep on Rachin Ravindra

Earlier in the day, New Zealand resumed their first innings on 180-3 and went on to post an impressive score of 402. India struck a few early blows, but Rachin Ravindra (134) ensured the Kiwis took a massive first-innings lead of 356. Praising the left-handed batter, Kuldeep commented:

“He's batted really well. I did miss the chance of taking his wicket a couple of times. But overall, he is a great player and has improved a lot in the last two years. He has a good batting technique and looks comfortable against the spinners. But I just hope he doesn't bat so well in the remaining contests against us."

Ravindra and Tim Southee (65) added 137 runs for the eighth wicket as New Zealand recovered from 233-7 to post 402 on the board.