Sarfaraz Khan fought through a bone swelling in his right wrist with the same resolve he showed against the Mohammed Siraj-led Hyderabad attack, steering Mumbai to a mammoth 560 in the first innings of their Ranji Trophy clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Friday.
Resuming on 142, Sarfaraz was uncharacteristically subdued by his own standards as he negotiated the new ball. With 352 runs on the board and Mumbai intent on batting Hyderabad out of the contest, the 28-year-old shifted gears.
Slipping seamlessly into T20 mode, he lit up the wagon wheel and found a willing ally in Suved Parkar, adding 92 runs in just 16 overs before the drinks break. Suved raced to a 52-ball half-century in the process.
Sarfaraz’s discomfort was evident, yet his strokeplay was unaffected. A majestic straight drive off Siraj soared into the second tier, followed by an improvised maximum over the slip cordon.
Moments later, he reached his fifth First Class double century. The helmet came off before the single was completed and, with his arms stretched, he did a small lap before turning towards the dressing room and shouting “Mumbai maji aai aahe” (Mumbai is my mother).
Freed of the milestone’s weight, he attacked with greater intent. One audacious, tennis-ball-like swing sent the ball sailing over the Hyderabad pavilion, leaving his opponents in grudging awe. Rakshann Readdi breached Sarfaraz’s defence right after, and Mumbai could add only 72 more runs before being bowled out, but the damage was done.
Hyderabad found itself two down and staring at a 522-run deficit, with Tushar Deshpande removing Abhirath Reddy off the fourth ball of the innings and Himanshu Singh sending back debutant Aman Rao.
Vice-captain Rahul Singh and K. Himateja resisted, absorbing a number of bruising body blows along the way, and raised an unbroken 100-run stand to offer Hyderabad some hope.
The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: Akhil Herwadkar c Nitish b Rohit 27, Akash Anand c Himateja b Siraj 35, Musheer Khan lbw b Nitin 11, Siddhesh Lad lbw b Rohit 104, Sarfaraz Khan b Rakshann 227, Himanshu Singh c Aman b Rakshann 1, Suved Parkar run out 75, Akash Parkar c sub (Varun) b Rakshann 14, Atharva Ankolekar (not out) 35, Tushar Deshpande c Rahul Radesh b Rakshann 4, Mohit Avasthi c Rahul Radesh b Himateja 5; Extras (b-12, lb-2, nb-6, w-2): 22; Total (in 123.2 overs): 560.
Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-66, 3-82, 4-331, 5-334, 6-488, 7-510, 8-523, 9-537.
Hyderabad bowling: Siraj 25-4-106-1, Milind 19-0-73-0, Rakshann 24-3-107-4, Rohit 29-3-123-2, Nitin 26-0-136-1, Himateja 0.2-0-1-1.
Hyderabad — 1st innings: Abhirath Reddy b Deshpande 4, Aman Rao b Himanshu 7, Rahul Singh (batting) 82, K. Himateja (batting) 40; Extras (lb-1, nb-3, w-1): 5; Total (for two wkts. in 41 overs): 138.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-38.
Mumbai bowling: Deshpande 11-2-46-1, Himanshu 11-4-18-1, Mohit 9-1-44-0, Akash 4-2-7-0, Musheer 6-0-22-0.
Published – January 23, 2026 09:04 pm IST
