England pacer Mark Wood and young Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan were involved in a heated exchange on Day 2 of the ongoing fifth and final Test of the series at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala on Friday, March 8.
Mark Wood was trying to get Sarfaraz Khan under his skin but the latter managed to get the better of England pacer. In the 76th over of India's batting, Sarfaraz Khan hit a boundary off Wood's inswinging delivery on the first ball. In the next delivery, Mark Wood delivered a dot ball. However, on the third ball, Sarfaraz Khan bent his knees and hit the ball towards the third man for another boundary.
Wood was seemingly frustrated as he kicked the ball towards the stumps at striker's end where Sarfaraz Khan was standing and exchanged few words with the Indian batter.
Sarfaraz Khan was at his best as he displayed aggressive batting against England's bowling attack. The 26-year-old tried to pull out all the shots under his arsenal and scored a third half-century of the series. Khan once made vital contributions to India's batting to put India in a commanding position.
Sarfaraz Khan scored two consecutive fifties in his Test debut in the third Test of the series against England in Rajkot. In the Ranchi Test, Khan faced criticism for getting out 14 and 0 in two innings. However, the youngster stepped up when the needed the team needed him the most in the first innings of India's batting in the ongoing Dharamshala Test.
Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal take India past 350-run mark in the first innings
India were 279/4 after Shubman Gill dismissed for 110 and Devdutt Padikkal was joined by Sarfaraz Khan at the crease in the middle to carry on hosts' innings. The pair troubled England bowlers with their batting exploits.
Padikkal, who is playing his debut Test match, remained calm under pressure and brought up his maiden fifty in 63 balls by smashing six off Shoaib Bashir's delivery in the 86th over of India's first innings batting. Devdutt Padikkal and Sarfaraz Khan frustrated England bowlers with their exploits and took the India past 350-run mark.
The duo forged a crucial 97-run partnership for the fifth wicket until Sarfaraz Khan was dismissed by Shoaib Bashir at 376/5. Thereafter, Padikkal joined by Dhruv Jurel to carry on India's batting. Devdutt Padikkal's stay at the crease ended after he was bowled out by Bashir for 65 ar 403/5.
After Padikkal's dismissal, India suffered a quick batting collapse, losing Dhruv Jurel (15), Ravindra Jadeja (15) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0) in 24 runs and they were reduced to 427/8.
