Watch: Sarfaraz Ahmed's Emotional Celebration Upon Scoring First Test Ton In 8 Years

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, making his return to the nation's Test side after a gap of 8 years, stunned the cricket world with his batting heroics. He couldn't touch the triple-digit score in the first Test, having been dismissed for 86 and 78 in the two innings of the first Test against New Zealand. In the second match, however, Sarfaraz finally broke the century drought, reaching the landmark for the 4th time in the longest format of the game. As soon as Sarfaraz reached the milestone, he produced an ecstatic celebration, punching the air, as well as the ground.

A few months ago, the prospects of Sarafraz even playing for Pakistan again were deemed done and dusted. However, a change in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with the arrival of Najam Sethi as chairman and Shahid Afridi as the chief selector, Sarfaraz also made his return.

With Pakistan going 5 down for 80 runs, the onus was on Sarfaraz to hold one end together and take the team to safety. The veteran cricketer didn't just prevent wickets from falling but scored runs at a pace that kept the hosts' hopes of winning the match alive.

Fans in the entire stadium erupted as Sarfaraz completed his century inside his home stadium, Karachi. Here's the video:

This moment

Sarfaraz delivers on his home ground #PAKvNZ | #TayyariKiwiHai pic.twitter.com/LoIPI9HrcG

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 6, 2023

Even one of the members of his family, who was in the stands, seemed to have shed tears seeing veteran cricketer bag the elusive triple-digit score in his home stadium.

Sarfaraz scores a test century after 8 years

What a moment in NSK

His wife is crying pic.twitter.com/G2aVDO9ib2

— Imran Siddique (@imransiddique89) January 6, 2023

Earlier in the match, Sarfaraz became only the second Pakistani wicketkeeper to score 6000 runs in international cricket. He had made his return to the team's Test side after a gap of 4 years. In fact, it was the first time that Sarfaraz was playing a Test series in Pakistan.

It also has to be noted that Sarfaraz is the leading run-scorer as a wicketkeeper, having scored around 3000 runs in the longest format of the game. 

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Sarfaraz Ahmed Cricket