My Heart Was Beating Too Fast, Says Sarfaraz Ahmed On His Test Comeback Against New Zealand

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed shined in his 50th Test appearance and first at home with a gritty 86 off 153 balls against New Zealand.

Ahmed, coming in for Mohammad Rizwan to get a Test appearance after almost four years, shared a mammoth 196-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Babar lasting 56.3 to put Pakistan in a position of strength and demoralise New Zealand.

Sarfaraz joked that his heart was beating through the roof when he came out to bat.

"When I played my first three balls, if you would have measured my heartbeat, the meter would have broken. My heart was beating too fast. It was not like I was debuting, I was making a comeback and the position was crunch," Ahmed was quoted as saying.

"Babar gave me a lot of confidence and as a senior player the way he talked me through the pressure gave me a lot of confidence," Ahmed said.

However, the right hander was disappointed to not have converted his innings into a century as he edged spinner Ajaz Patel in the 86th over of the game, late in the final session of play.

"I finally got an opportunity and I hope my today's knock will help the team," Sarfaraz said. "Of course it was disappointing not to get a century in my hometown, but the partnership with Babar was more important to me."

However, the right hander was disappointed to not have converted his innings into a century as he edged spinner Ajaz Patel in the 86th over of the game, late in the final session of play.

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