Young batter Ibrahim Zadran on Tuesday became the first Afghanistan player to score an ODI World Cup century during his team’s match against Australia at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
Zadran’s journey to the century wasn’t easy as he took 131 balls to reach the triple figure mark with a double off Josh Hazlewood’s delivery.
This was the fifth ODI century for the 21-year-old Zadran in his 27th one-day international game and he surpassed the previous best World Cup score of 96 by former Afghanistan player Samiullah Shinwari against Scotland in the 2015 World Cup.
Highest individual scores for Afghanistan in World Cups
129* – Ibrahim Zadran vs AUS, Mumbai WS, 2023
96 – Samiullah Shinwari vs SCOT, Dunedin, 2015
87 – Ibrahim Zadran vs PAK, Chennai, 2023
86 – Ikram Alikhil vs WI, Leeds, 2019
80 – Hashmatullah Shahidi vs IND, Delhi, 2023
80 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs ENG, Delhi, 2023
Meanwhile, Zadran, at 21 years and 330 days, also became the fourth youngest batter to score a World Cup century.
Youngest players to score an ODI World Cup hundred
20y 196d – Paul Stirling (IRE) vs NED, Kolkata, 2011
21y 76d – Ricky Ponting (AUS) vs WI, Jaipur, 1996
21y 87d – Avishka Fernando (SL) vs WI, Chester-le-Street, 2019
21y 330 – Ibrahim Zadran (AFG) vs AUS, Mumbai WS, 2023
22y 106d – Virat Kohli (IND) vs BAN, Mirpur, 2011
22y 300d – Sachin Tendulkar (IND) vs KEN, Cuttack, 1996
Speaking during the innings break, Zadran revealed that he had a chat with Sachin Tendulkar a day before the game and he credited the cricket legend for his confidence booster words.
“I had a good chat with Sachin Tendulkar yesterday, he shared a lot of his experiences that I can’t express. I’m very thankful to him for sharing his experiences and giving me a lot of confidence,” said Zadran.
Riding on Ibrahim Zadran’s brilliant century, Afghanistan posted a stiff total of 291/5 on the board. Apart from Zadran, Rashid Khan chipped in with a valuable 18-ball 35*.
Earlier, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bat first. They made one change, bringing in seamer Naveen-ul-Haq for Fazalhaq Farooqi.
On the other hand, Steve Smith missed out with a vertigo and was replaced by Mitchell Marsh, while Glenn Maxwell returned to the Australian playing eleven in place of Cameron Green.
Playing XIs:
Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil(w), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq