Ibrahim Zadran, the Afghanistan opener, has etched his name in the annals of cricket history by achieving a remarkable century against Australia at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. This extraordinary feat makes him the first-ever Afghan batter to achieve a century in the World Cup.
The 21-year-old right-handed batsman is now just one century shy of matching Mohammad Shahzad’s record for the most centuries scored by an Afghan player in ODIs. Zadran recently surpassed Samiullah Shinwari’s highest individual score by an Afghanistan batsman in a World Cup match. Back in the 2015 World Cup, Samiullah Shinwari delivered a memorable performance by scoring 96 runs against Scotland, securing Afghanistan’s first-ever victory in World Cup history. Ibrahim’s outstanding contribution has been instrumental in Afghanistan’s quest for a formidable total in a crucial match against Australia that they must win.
Ibrahim Zadran has achieved the distinction of becoming the fourth-youngest batsman to notch a century against Australia. The youngest to achieve this feat against the Australian team remains Mohammad Ashraful, who was a mere 20 years and 282 days old when he notched up a century against them in Cardiff back in 2005. Ashraful also holds the title of being the fourth-youngest centurion in the 50-overs World Cup.
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Ibrahim Zadran, operating as the opener, consistently built partnerships to drive Afghanistan’s score close to the 300-run mark within 50 overs. It took him 131 deliveries to bring up Afghanistan’s first-ever World Cup century, embellishing his innings with eight boundaries and three majestic sixes. Following this milestone, Zadran shifted gears and raced to 29 runs in just 12 balls. Remarkably, he remained unbeaten in his innings, accumulating an impressive total of 129 runs from 143 deliveries. Moreover, Ibrahim Zadran has recently set a new record by becoming the fastest Afghan batsman to reach 1,000 ODI runs.
Ibrahim Zadran’s ongoing performance in the 2023 World Cup has been impressive, accumulating a total of 349 runs in 8 innings. His outstanding batting has included both a century and a half-century. In a crucial moment, Rashid Khan made a significant contribution, playing a remarkable cameo with the bat, adding 35 runs from just 18 deliveries, which made it difficult for Australia to maintain their position.
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