Sarfaraz Khan hopes to carry over his outstanding local form into international cricket, according to India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. The Mumbai hitter played against New Zealand on Saturday and got his first Test century in the first session of play on day four.

Following their lowest Test total at home of 46 in the first essay, Sarfaraz carried on his knock from his overnight score of 70 and was aided by Rishabh Pant in the middle to sustain India’s comeback in the first Test.

Before rain stopped play in the first session, the pair cobbled together a partnership of 113 runs, with Pant recording his 12th Test fifty. India was down by 12 runs at 344/3 after 71 overs.

“Hundreds, double hundreds, and treble hundreds are how we relate to Sarfaraz Khan. In a video that the BCCI released on X, Nayar said, “I therefore hope that in the end we see the domestic Sarfaraz Khan being the beast in international cricket and getting that triple hundred.”

Before Glenn Phillips dismissed him on the last ball of the day’s play on Friday, Sarfaraz and Virat Kohli (70) shared a vital partnership of 136 runs.

“We have an attitude in the dressing room that sometimes you expect Indians to fight back when you are pushed against the wall. Fighting when things become tough is something we do naturally, according to Nayar.

“I believe we can look at reaching somewhere between 300 and 350 by the end of the day and then kind of challenge the New Zealanders on the final day if we can get past the first 15-20 overs without losing a wicket. “Putting 250 runs on board and adding New Zealand is the ideal scenario,” he said.

Ryan ten Doeschate, the second assistant coach for India, praised the team’s mentality for overcoming the first-inning collapse and mounting a comeback.

“Very good day overall. We were pretty excellent until that final ball, and we fought really hard. We’ve given ourselves an opportunity to come back into the game, which is certainly a significant point in the Test. We’re always looking for answers, regardless of the circumstances, and I believe you saw that today. It would have been simple to give up with a huge disadvantage like that. Thus, we don’t feel like we’re out of the game and we’re not too far off. We approach things that way because I believe the boys have shown a never-say-die mentality,” stated Ryan.