Sarfaraz Khan [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/x]Sarfaraz Khan plundered his first-class century number 17 through the course of his batting bombardment against Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Batting at number five for the Mumbai cricket team in their Elite Group D match of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, Sarfaraz smeared 227 runs from 219 balls at a staggering strike rate of 103.65. The Mumbai run machine clattered 19 cracking boundaries and nine huge sixes against the likes of Mohammed Siraj and co. as the cricketer continues to make the most of his opportunities at the domestic level. Notably, Sarfaraz Khan credited former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin after scoring his commanding double century at the latter’s home ground. Sarfaraz Khan credits Mohammad Azharuddin for valuable inputs While speaking after the day and as quoted by Sports Tak, Sarfaraz Khan credited Mohammad Azharuddin for giving him valuable tips. Sarfaraz said that the former Indian captain warned him about countering reverse swing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium surface, especially during the early part of an innings. The Mumbai batter also added that Mohammad Azharuddin even demonstrated some of the shots, and advised him to stand at a certain place of the crease as the two cricketing personalities spoke for nearly two hours. Sarfaraz Khan said, “I haven’t faced much reverse swing in my career. Azhar sir told me the ball reverses early here and showed me where to stand for inswingers. He even demonstrated shots. We talked for nearly two hours.” Sarfaraz Khan admitted to being a huge fan of Mohammad Azharuddin. He added that his father used to show him videos of the former Indian captain growing up. The out-of-favour Indian cricketer said, “When I was young, my father used to show me videos of Azhar sir. Even now, he shows me clips of his flick shots. I’ve always been a big fan of his style.” Sarfaraz Khan continues to knock on selection doors Sarfaraz Khan blasted 227 off 219 balls for Mumbai across Days 1 and 2 of their Elite Group D match against hosts Hyderabad. The innings marked his 17th first-class century, and his first of the ongoing 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. The cricketer has so far aggregated 405 runs in just eight innings spanning six matches of the tournament at a prolific batting average of 57.85 and a strike rate of nearly 75. The knock further strengthened Sarfaraz Khan’s case, as the Mumbai batter continues to knock on selection doors amidst being overlooked from India’s Test set-up. Sarfaraz Khan leads Mumbai’s command Sarfaraz Khan’s double hundred also helped Mumbai mount 560 from just 123.2 overs by the halfway stage of Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match against Hyderabad. Captain Siddhesh Lad scored a century of his own, cracking 104 off 179 balls with 10 boundaries and two sixes. Suved Parkar bludgeoned a fiery 75 off 98 balls as Mumbai batters took the likes of Hyderabad captain Mohammed Siraj and fellow pace veteran Chama Milind to the cleaners.
