A run out is the worst way to get out for any batter. How much the coaches and the players may practice and train for them to avoid, run-outs have happened in the past, are taking place and will continue to happen. The only thing you can do is not to repeat the same mistake again. The debutant Sarfaraz Khan may have learned the lesson the hard way as his beautiful innings of 62 (66) on debut was cut short following a horrible mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja.
Former India captain and erstwhile head coach Anil Kumble, who presented Sarfaraz with his Test cap, felt that his bad luck passed onto the young Mumbai batter. Interestingly, Kumble was one of the 12 Indian batters to get run out on Test debut, before Sarfaraz became the 13th. Speaking on the partnership of 77 runs between Jadeja and Sarfaraz, Kumble felt that the all-rounder went into his shell and wasn't sure of his gameplan and could be one of the reasons for the run-out.
“Yes, Sarfaraz was dominating the partnership but Jadeja, I thought, got into a shell and that sometimes creates a mindset where you are not clear about the decision-making. Maybe, that was one of the reasons and possibly I passed on my bad luck of my debut run-out to Sarfaraz!," said Kumble on JioCinema.
Kumble heaped praise on Sarfaraz saying that it didn't look like it was his first-ever knock in international cricket.
“It never looked like it was his first Test innings. We all know about the talent he has and we have seen him dominate spin at the domestic level. But at the Test level, you need a completely different mindset and to have that approach and play that free-flowing innings was brilliant," Kumble said. "He was certainly tested by Mark Wood, but coming in and dominating the spinners was outstanding. And the way he batted – more than a run a ball with the kind of shot selection, he was very assured in his approach. After he took the bowlers on, the next ball was played on the backfoot just to manoeuvre that single and get off strike. Brilliant batting from Sarfaraz."
Jadeja will now have the responsibility of getting India to a good total on the board, because the pitch is very good and the all-rounder has already scored 110 runs.
