"It takes a lot of courage to come out and play like that"- Paul Collingwood hails Sarfaraz Khan for sizzling knock on debut in IND vs ENG 3rd Test

England's assistant coach Paul Collingwood was quite impressed with the way debutant Sarfaraz Khan went about his business in his first Test innings for India against England. The 26-year-old made his debut on Day 1 of the third Test of the series in Rajkot on Thursday, February 15.

Collingwood shed light on how Sarfaraz kept using his feet against the spinners and also showed a range of shots that put the visitors under pressure. Even when Ben Stokes had an attacking field, the right-hander wasn't shy to go over the top despite being new to the crease.

Speaking to the reporters after the end of play on Day 1, here's what Paul Collingwood had to say about Sarfaraz Khan:

“He sweeps really well and put the bowlers under pressure. On debut, it takes a lot of courage to come out and play like that. I guess from his point of view, it was a shame to get run out the way he did. You can see why he has got a pretty good first-class average — he looks a decent player."

Sarfaraz Khan's sensational knock of 62 came to a heartbreaking end as he was run out due to a miscommunication with Ravindra Jadeja. Had both batters returned unscathed at Stumps, it would have been a near-perfect Day 1 for the hosts.

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Paul Collingwood defends Joe Root dropping Rohit Sharma's catch

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma set the tone for the hosts once again with a sensational 131. He ensured that they didn't collapse despite being in a precarious situation at 33/3.

However, Rohit did receive a life when he had not even crossed the 30-run mark. Joe Root dropped the catch at first slip and that cost England more than a hundred runs. However, Paul Collingwood backed the visitors to continue competing and said:

“Nobody ever wants to drop catches and the beauty about the game is you’ve got to try to make more opportunities. That’s what Stokesy with his field placings and the bowlers did, trying to work out if they could change the mentality of the batters. On wickets that aren’t doing too much, you’ve got to take risks to try create chances."

India have ended Day 1 at 326/5 with Ravindra Jadeja (110*) and Kuldeep Yadav (1*) at the crease. England might get some help in the morning session with moisture in the pitch. They need to ensure they make the most of it to prevent the hosts from getting a massive first-innings score.