Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan, who lit up the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday

On Saturday, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan stole the show in the Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru with a counter-attacking partnership of 72 from 55 balls.

At the start of play on day three of the Duleep Trophy, the then-sparse crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium were vociferous in their support for hometown hero KL Rahul – even during the warmups.

But KL, batting overnight, was dismissed early on in the day’s proceedings. Instead, it was Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan who, in a short but sweet partnership, seemed to tempt the fans away from their true love into having an illicit affair with them.

To recap: India A (for reference, Rahul’s team, because who can remember plays where with this system) had been bowled out for 231, conceding a 90-run lead to India B. Damp spirits were brightened considerably as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Musheer Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran all headed back early. At tea, India A trailed by 123 runs, but had taken three wickets.

Pant and Sarfaraz then joined hands in the middle. There is something mesmeric about each of their batting as individuals, but the two of them coming together produced a harmony like no other. Both of similar builds and heights, it can sometimes be hard to tell from a distance who is who.

When they are batting though, there is no mistaking them – and not just by their batting hands.

 

 

With the score at 33-3 after tea, Sarfaraz got the ball rolling instantly. Off Akash Deep, the Mumbaikar hit five boundaries in five different areas – slips, cover, midwicket, mid-off and point, in that order. All of them were hit along the ground and relied on timing, placement, or both. Rarely, if ever, did Sarfaraz look like he was trying.

By contrast, Pant swung hard. He was not rash, but provided an intangible, electric, edge to the partnership. After gloving a Khaleel Ahmed bouncer for four, Pant was greeted by some light-hearted in-your-face words from the bowler. The pair laughed it off instantly, but it was impossible not to sense a degree of frustration felt by the fielding side from the batters at both ends.

Read more: KL Rahul vs Sarfaraz Khan: Who should start in India's middle order against Bangladesh?

If edges disturbed him, Khaleel was about to receive something worse. He erred in line and length to Sarfaraz, bowling full outside the off stump. The bat came through from high up, but looked languid and lightning at the same time as it slammed the ball over cover for six. But even as Sarfaraz limited himself to just the middle of his bat, Pant continued to use every inch of it.

It’s not unlikely that fast bowler Akash Deep would like to emulate James Anderson at some point in his career, and Pant helped him with that. Just like he did to the Englishman in 2021, Pant pulled out the reverse-scoop to a delivery on a length outside off. It took a bit of glove, a bit of bat and ran away between the keeper and first slip for four. On his red-ball comeback, it was like the first rays of the old Rishabh Pant were peeking through the clouds – not perfect, but enough cause for hope.

The left-hander then tried to shovel Deep over the leg side, resulting in a skier. Keeper Dhruv Jurel chased the ball down all the way to deep fine leg (arguably getting in the fielder’s way). As it landed safely, the Chinnaswamy roared in relief – possibly the biggest one of the day.

 

 

Perhaps fittingly, both players ended up dying by the sword they lived by. Sarfaraz nicked a short, wide delivery from Avesh Khan to go for 46 and end the partnership at 72 runs off 55 balls. Pant went later on, as he mistimed a sweep off Tanush Kotian and departed for 61.

In just about an hour at the crease together, Pant and Sarfaraz might have given us a glimpse into the not-so-distant future of India’s batting in Test cricket. It is still far from the time Sarfaraz becomes an undroppable player in the lineup, but this combination is salivating in the extreme.

In Pant, India had one maverick already. Sarfaraz is less of one himself, but has a gear within his range of strokeplay that very few – even the likes of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, his likely competition for a spot in the Indian side – can match.

The upcoming Bangladesh series may be too early to see Pant and Sarfaraz bat in tandem and even if and when we get it, there is no telling how long it will last. Forget all that for a second, though. What's key is just to strap in, sit tight, and enjoy the ride they take you on.

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