Snubbed from the senior Test side, India A batter Sarfaraz Khan continued his impressive run in England with a blistering century in the intra-squad match against India at the Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Mumbaikar smashed a 76-ball hundred as India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah limbered up with a wicket-less session, giving away 36 runs in seven overs. Bumrah’s pace partners, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna two wickets each. However, Siraj ended up on the expensive side, conceding 86 runs for his scalps. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, who earned his maiden call-up to the Test side, also went without a wicket during the session.
However, it was Sarfaraz who stole the show, cracking 15 fours and two sixes during his enterprising knock before being retired out to accommodate other batters as India A finished the day at 299/6 in response to India’s 459. The day ended with wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan remaining unbeaten on 45 alongside Shardul Thakur (19 not out).
📸 📸 In Pics
Day 2 of the Intra-squad Game in Beckenham
Just a few blokes enjoying a game of red-ball cricket 🏏 pic.twitter.com/rDqbXEaWRv
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 14, 2025
The ton comes on the back of Sarfaraz’s fluent 92 against the England Lions in Canterbury in the first unofficial Test. Earlier, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad fell for a duck in his first outing of the tour after being benched for both matches against the England Lions.
Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan, part of the senior Test squad, played out decent hits, scoring 39 and 38 respectively. Captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul anchored India’s batting the previous day, striking smooth half-centuries in the lead-up to the first Test that will be played at Headingley from June 20.
Having featured in the second unofficial Test for India A, Rahul cracked his 19th First-Class century against the Lions in Northampton and backed it up with a half-century in the second innings. The Karnataka batter, who has not struck a century at home since 2016, has maintained a solid record in England since his first Test appearance in 2018, scoring four centuries in 21 First-Class innings in the country.
