IPL’s youngest player Sarfaraz Khan blitz in vain, rain forces RCB, RR to share points

Sarafaraz smashed unbeaten 45 off 21 balls as RCB went onto put up 200/7. (Source: BCCI)

When Sarfaraz Khan was born, Pravin Tambe was 26. He had already played countless matches across the maidaans of Mumbai and his hopes of playing high-profile cricket were well and truly on the slide. Sarfaraz seemed destined for the big-stage from the time he picked up a bat, or so those around him would claim incessantly. Some 17 years later, their paths would cross on a glitzy IPL night at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

By then, Tambe had made the big leap. He had donned Mumbai colours in the Ranji Trophy. Incidentally, only 12 months later, Sarfaraz would do the same, while still a teen.

But here they were under the glare of the lights in Bengaluru, both trying their best to make a mark, on each other and on the world.

Sarfaraz, the brash and brazen tyke with an adrelaine rush to match his desperation to impress, and Tambe, the sage veteran still deceiving men half his age with his wily bag of tricks.

This could easily have been a battle being fought at Azad or Cross Maidan. And it’s unlikely the thousands coming to and fro from CST and Churchgate station would have given them a second look. But this was the IPL. And the world was watching.

Sarfaraz’s quickfire knock of 45* powered RC Bangalore to reach 200.(Source: BCCI)

Almost half of Sarfaraz’s runs on Wednesday came off Tambe, thus winning the bragging rights against a man who is only three months younger than his father. Those 19 runs off 11 balls included two fours and a six. The first four was a thunderous sweep off a length ball. The next delivery saw him storm out of his crease and launch Tambe’s airy offering over the long-off fence.

Capturing imagination

Then came an inside-out scoop reminiscent of the six he’d hit off Ravindra Jadeja in his first-ever IPL outing last week. This one went for four. By now, he had caught the attention of his Royal Challengers Bangalore dug-out. He had also captured the imagination of the Chinnaswamy crowd and viewers around the world.

There were boundaries struck of the other more established bowlers as well during his unbeaten knock that would eventually turn out to be the major highlight of a rained-out encounter with Rajasthan Royals never even getting to the crease in pursuit of 201, the target RCB had set them. Two-in-two came off Royals skipper Shane Watson. Both in the direction of third-man—one an outside-edge while attempting a mow and the other a cheeky ramp over the slip-region. He would also play a slightly more streaky ramp-shot off James Faulkner for four.

And he didn’t mind showing off his audacious streak—which he is renowned for in cricket circles around Mumbai—either. If anything, he looked to be taking a lot of pleasure in doing so.

The audacious streak has got him into trouble before though with his demeanour on and off the field forever under the scanner. Only last month, he had been pulled up by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for having made an obscene gesture after scoring a century in a junior game.

Dummy shadow-strokes

But here it was paying off. He tried hitting a reverse-sweep off a slower one from Faulkner, and connected with the back of the bat. It was just the fifth delivery of his innings. And as he ran across for a single, the Tasmanian was waiting to give him an earful. Sarfaraz wasn’t taking a backward step though and he seemed to give it back to the Aussie. He was also constantly moving around in his crease, playing dummy shadow-strokes to put off the bowlers before the ball had left their hands.

It took no time for the Twitter world to go ga ga over the latest IPL mini-sensation with everyone from Tom Moody to Michael Vaughan expressing their awe over the diminutive right-hander’s abilities. David Lloyd even went on to alert the counties about getting into line to sign up the 17-year-old. Soon, the comparisons weren’t restricted to the more obvious ones with Sachin Tendulkar, some were even seeing a young Aravinda de Silva in him.

Most of it bordered on the presumptuous, and was more testament to the IPL’s ability to transform a player from anonymity to overnight superstardom than Sarfaraz’s talent. For, this was but a brief spark, an eye-catching one it might have been, in a cricketing journey that is yet to get into gear. His skipper Virat Kohli—who folded his hands as if to pay his respects to the youngster—and the entire RCB team was there to welcome him back into the dug-out as Sarfaraz walked off the field. But for his own good, the best way to treat his reputation-establishing innings would be with a dash of a virtue that we are yet to see in his batting—restraint.

Source:: Indian Express