Sarfaraz Khan seized the opportunity in the first Test match against New Zealand and scored his maiden international century as India reduced the first innings deficit to under 100 by the opening hour of the fourth day at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Indian batsman, who was dismissed for an unfortunate duck in the first innings of the match, erupted in wild celebrations at the ground after reaching the three-figure score and the act left captain Rohit Sharma in splits in the Indian dressing room.

After guiding Tim Southee's length ball through cover for a boundary in the 57th over of the innings, Sarfaraz took off his helmet, roared, swung his bat and then showed it to the dressing room, the crowd and the sky before sprinting around Infield area with hands raised.

It was just a fitting celebration, not just for Sarfaraz, who recovered from a first-innings disappointment to score a ton despite stiff competition from within India's Test squad, but also for the batsman, who weathered a storm after India went for one Folded a historic low of 46 in the first innings before conceding a lead of 356 runs, the highest on home soil in the last 15 years.

The entire Indian dressing room was on its feet as Sarfaraz celebrated his 100th birthday. Rohit was later seen bursting into uncontrollable laughter after watching a replay of the celebration as the Indian captain almost fell off his seat.

Sarfaraz trouser rack

Rishabh Pant, who was sidelined on the third day with a knee injury while continuing the previous day, took cover on the fourth day and ably supported Sarfaraz in India's fightback in Bengaluru. The pair almost made a century stand, leaving New Zealand clueless about their plan as India neared a total of 350 runs.