Kohli and Sarfaraz’s paths haven’t crossed much since their RCB days, which ended after Sarfaraz came out in 2018. It was fitting that the first time they batted together in an international match was on the very ground where they had shared a great match. moment all those years ago.

When the two came together, India were in trouble, trailing New Zealand by 261 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma had fallen in quick succession after a good start, meaning Sarfaraz and Kohli had to do the rebuilding. What they had in their favor was a field that had settled down. What they had to overcome was scoreboard pressure, and maybe a few demons.

Kohli and Sarfaraz were two of the five Indian batters to fall for a duck in the first innings, in which India were bowled out for 46. Kohli had not scored a fifty in a Test match in 2024. It didn’t look like he had been out of the game. form, but he couldn’t convert his starts as comfortably as he did when he was at his peak. He also had to miss some matches for personal reasons. Sarfaraz has been fighting for his place in the Indian side since making his debut against England earlier this year. There’s a chance he wouldn’t even have been in the playing XI had Shubman Gill been fit. But the way they played belied the pressure on them.

After four balls of fervent defending, Sarfaraz went for his favorite sweep shot and took Ajaz Patel for back-to-back fours. It was an important passage in the game. Ajaz was the one who had dismissed the Indian openers, but suddenly he was not allowed to settle into any rhythm. Kohli, who was at 9 off 22 at the time after playing a few cautious strokes, brought on Will O’Rourke for a delightful cover drive. And when Sarfaraz guided the fast bowler past the slips, the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which had been silent for a while, found its voice again.

It wasn’t even a roar yet. More of a hum. Sometimes that’s what the scoreboard does. India had reached 121 for 2, were at almost 4.70 runs per over, but were still 235 runs behind. Then came two shots from Sarfaraz, turning the clock back to 2015. Both shots came in an O’Rourke over. Both shot very unconventionally for a Test match.

O’Rourke tried to test Sarfaraz with a bouncer but the line was out and as the pitch was not that fast the batsman used all the speed available to take it to six. Two balls later, O’Rourke fell short again. This was a faster bouncer, aimed straight at Sarfaraz’s body. But he recoiled, and as he almost ducked, he dropped the head of the bat in the same path as the ball and got it over the keeper’s head even as it fell on his behind.

This was the moment. Kohli was divided. Bengaluru was delirious.

By then, Kohli also wanted to join in the fun. When Ajaz bowled his eleventh over, he jumped down the track and hit the left-arm spinner for a straight six. But it was the reaction after the shot that showed he was in the zone. Kohli took a step to the right, straightened the straps of his gloves and just nodded as he looked at Sarfaraz. The next ball, out, came through a sweep through square leg, taking the fifty partnership to just 45 balls, before Kohli ended the over with another four through long leg.

The ‘RCB, RCB’ chants emerged, but were soon replaced by ‘India, India’. The Bharat Army sang its songs, the Mexican wave lasted well over half an hour, the noise of the dhols was deafening and in all this Sarfaraz and Kohli continued.

The camaraderie between the two was also very visible. The first ball of the 45th over by O’Rourke was a wayward short ball long down. Sarfaraz instinctively fluttered at the ball in vain and then looked sheepishly at Kohli, knowing he had made a mistake with 15 minutes to go before stumps. Kohli was unimpressed, looked to his right and almost immediately started grinning without saying much.