Sarfaraz Khan made his long-awaited Test debut against England on Thursday and immediately made an impression in the match with a quick fire fifty on Day 1 in Rajkot.
The 26-year-old got to the landmark in 48 balls at a strike rate of 104.2 to equal Hardik Pandya's record for the fastest fifty by an Indian batter on Test debut after Independence.
Sarfaraz, who came to the crease after the fall of Rohit Sharma's wicket in the final session, hit 7 fours and a six.
His father Naushad, wife Romana Zahoor and captain Rohit all stood up to applaud the entertaining knock at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium.
Fastest fifties on men's Test debut for India:
48 - Hardik Pandya vs SL, 2017
48 - Sarfaraz Khan vs ENG, 2024
50 - Shikhar Dhawan vs AUS, 2013
56 - Prithvi Shaw vs WI, 2018
Sarfaraz's international debut has been a long time coming as he was scoring heaps of runs in domestic cricket but still wasn't able to break through into the Indian team.
His opportunity finally came when KL Rahul injured his quad muscle in the first Test and subsequently ruled out of the next two games. Sarfaraz got his maiden India call-up after the Vizag Test and was included in the playing XI after Rahul failed to get fit in time for the Rajkot Test.
Sarfaraz looked confident in the middle and regularly took on the English bowlers, while showing no signs of any nerves. He was looking good for a triple-digit score had he not sacrificed his wicket on 62 for Ravindra Jadeja's century.
Jadeja was batting on 99 and looking for a quick single when Sarfaraz got run out while trying to respond to a call from his teammate.
