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India batter Sarfaraz Khan's hard work came to fruition when he smashed a stylish 62 of 66 balls while coming in at number six as he put on a sparkling show of batting on Day 1 of the third Test against England and looked on course to hit a big score.
However, miscommunication with star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the middle cut short his lovely debut innings as he was run out by Mark Wood at the non-striker's end. Sarfaraz spiced up a solid day for the hosts slamming a spectacular 62 off 66 deliveries before falling prey to a miscommunication. Sarfaraz was asked about the incident during the press conference following the day's play in Rajkot, and the batter appeared unconcerned. "There was a little miscommunication. This is part of the game. Sometimes there is a run-out, sometimes there is a run, and sometimes there is not. So all this goes on. He (Jadeja) said that there was a little miscommunication. And I said that it is okay. It happens. There is nothing big in it," Sarfaraz said during a post-day press conference. The 26-year-old thanked the all-rounder for assisting him through his debut. Sarfaraz was apprehensive in the first few balls of his innings, even top-edging a slog sweep. Sarfaraz claimed that Jadeja calmed his anxiety and advised him to play a lengthy innings. "When I was batting with Jadeja, I told him to play while communicating with me. I like to play that way. He helped me out a lot and supported me. He helped me control my nerves and told me to spend as much time as possible on the crease to understand everything. That is what I did and I scored runs," he added. As India chose to bat first, Sarfaraz was ready to go from ball one, as the hosts lost three wickets in the first hour. But Sarfaraz had to wait as Rohit Sharma and Jadeja teamed for a crucial fourth-wicket stand of 204 runs. "I had been sitting for almost 4 hours padded up. So I was just thinking that I have kept so much patience in life, I'll keep a little more. Then after that, I went inside, initially, I was a little nervous because it was my first time, but I had practised and put in so much hard work that everything went well," the 26-year-old said. "I felt a little strange in the first couple of overs. Because I was coming for the first time. And for so long, it was a dream to play. But later it felt like I had done this thing. When I went into the zone, I didn't feel so difficult after that," he added. India finished the opening day 326/5 on board with Jadeja (110) and Kuldeep Yadav (1) standing unbeaten at the crease. (ANI)
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