Jaffer comes to Mumbai’s rescue with a timely century

Armaan Jaffer was worried on eve of the Ranji Trophy game against Andhra. The damp pitch at Vizianagaram and lack of red ball practice had left him in two minds. The worried youngster sought the advice of coach Amol Muzumdar, whose message was rather simple; “play the ball as per merit.”
Jaffer’s schoolmate and teammate Sarfaraz Khan had made a prediction too. “He told me that if I bat till drinks in the morning, I will end up scoring a hundred. And it happened,” Jaffer recalls.
On Wednesday, Jaffer, who was on 5 overnight, struck an unbeaten 116 to help Mumbai post 290 for 6 at stumps on Day 2 against Andhra. The heavyweights have a 52-run lead and would look to extend it on Thursday. His unbeaten century in the Ranji opener came off 267 balls and had one six and 16 fours.
“I am happy with the way I batted, but I need to cash on the opportunity. Scoring big on a consent basis is my goal. Before coming here I hardly had any red ball practice. I was in Jaipur to play for Indian Oil, but it was with white ball,” the 24-year-old Mumbai middle-order batsman said.Subscriber Only StoriesPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
Jaffer, who is nephew of veteran Wasim Jaffer, is finding his path in domestic cricket. Comparisons with his uncle’s batting is unavoidable and one he is beginning to cope up with. Armaan still has a long way to go in terms of emerging as a potential, who is on the radar of national selectors.
While Jaffer had done well in age-group cricket, his schoolmates Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz have made their names in Indian cricket. And Jaffer believes it is his turn now.
“I know I am far behind in the race when it comes to comparison with two of my schoolmates, but I feel there is no point in thinking too much about that. It’s important to keep following the process and try to bat as much longer as I can. Runs will come if I spend more time at the crease,” he added.
This was Jaffer’s third First-Class century and on a challenging wicket he got support from captain Ajinkya Rahane (44) as Mumbai had a tough start to their innings. Other than Rahane, the middle-order consing of Sarfaraz, wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore and all-rounder Shams Mulani failed to make substantial contributions. With a sizable lead on hand, Jaffer will look to make it big on Day Three.