IND vs NZ: ‘Let’s repeat Duleep Trophy’, says Sarfaraz Khan in chat with Rishabh Pant during 177-run stand

India batsman Sarfaraz Khan, who smashed his maiden Test century on Day 4 of the first Test against New Zealand in Bangalore, shared insights into the crucial conversation between him and teammate Rishabh Pant that led to his fiery partnership of 177 runs. Sarfaraz revealed that both the players recalled their successful days in the Duleep Trophy, which inspired them to adopt a similar attacking strategy against the New Zealand bowling attack.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Sarfaraz spoke about how the situation on Day 4 mirrored his experience at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the Duleep Trophy in September, where they put up an aggressive 240-run stand for India B vs India A. Draw Building on this successful performance, the duo decided to take on the New Zealand bowlers with an attacking mindset.

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“We both play attacking cricket. A few days ago, we played a Duleep Trophy match here. We had to counter-attack in the second innings. We had to score runs and then give them the fight. So we were discussing that the Duleep The trophy days are back, so we’re doing it again, and then we played some attacking cricket,” Sarfaraz said.

After India lost the in-form Virat Kohli for 70 on the last ball of Day 3, there were questions about how the team would perform on the crucial fourth day. However, Sarfaraz and Pant balanced the inningshelping India post a total of 462 runs in their second innings. Sarfaraz made a brilliant knock of 150, scoring his maiden Test century, while Pant narrowly missed out on his own century, falling for 99.

Their partnership set the stage for India’s solid total, giving New Zealand a target of 107 runs to win. However, India faced a minor collapse after tea, losing their last four wickets (Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj) in quick succession. India’s innings finished with 99.3 overs but the formidable total left New Zealand with a tough task on the final day. With a target of 107 to chase, the match remains close to using India to defend their score and script something miraculous.