The roar from Sarfaraz Khan at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow was enough to guess how eagerly he was waiting for it to come. It was his maiden T20 century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 (SMAT 2025), which came against Assam in the group stage match. In the last ball of Mumbai's innings, Khan completed his hundred. In 47 balls the batter touched the century mark with eight boundaries and seven over boundaries. For this knock, his strike rate was 212.77.

This 47-ball, 100-run innings is a reminder for all the IPL franchises as well ahead of the mini auction. Sarfaraz Khan is mostly known for his technical batting abilities, resilience, and patience—all the required skill set for a Test cricket batter. It is worth mentioning that the match against Assam was Sarfaraz's first T20 fixture in two years. Because of Khan's century, Mumbai registered 220 runs in 20 overs in exchange for 4 wickets only. That total was too much to outplay Assam.

Under pressure, Assam could get 122 runs for all of their wickets, and Mumbai won the contest by 98 runs. In front of an aggressive Sarfaraz Khan, the economy rate of Assam bowlers was about to touch the sky. Three of their bowlers completed their spells with an economy rate over 11.00. The economy rates of the remaining two bowlers were around 10.

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Maiden SMAT 2025 century for Sarfaraz Khan

Before the knock against Assam, Sarfaraz had just three half-centuries in the shortest format, with his highest score being 67. The right-handed batter, mostly recognized as a Test batter, is expected to grab attention during the IPL 2026 mini auction after the ton.

Will he get back his spot in Team India? The question strongly remains as the middle-order batsman was not selected during the 2-match Test series against South Africa. So far, he has played 6 Tests for India to score 371, including a highest score of 150, which takes his batting average to 37.10. 

Sarfaraz Khan slams a hundred off 47 balls and vents his emotions with abandon. #SMAT2025 #SMAT25 @sportstarweb pic.twitter.com/JKIfP1ywtV

— Dhruva Prasad (@DhruvaPrasad9) December 2, 2025