Afghanistan’s opening batsman, Ibrahim Zadran, etched his name in the history books as he became the first-ever Afghan batter to score a century in the ICC ODI World Cups. This remarkable achievement occurred during the ongoing ICC CWC 2023 match between Australia and Afghanistan at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on November 7.

In this match, Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghan captain, won the toss and elected to bat first. Afghanistan opted for a lineup with four spinners in their XI, including Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Noor Ahmad.

Australia, on the other hand, faced the absence of Steve Smith due to vertigo, while Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh returned to the XI. Josh Hazlewood claimed the early wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored 21 runs. However, Ibrahim Zadran held firm at one end while other batters made valuable contributions. Rahmat Shah contributed 30 runs, establishing an 83-run partnership for the second wicket. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (26) and Azmatullah Omarzai (22) also played their part in advancing the score.

Zadran reached his fifty in 62 balls, featuring 6 fours, and then accelerated during the final overs. He finished unbeaten with an impressive 129 runs off 143 balls, including 8 fours and 3 sixes. Rashid Khan’s quickfire cameo of 35* runs from 18 balls propelled Afghanistan to a total of 291/5 in their allotted 50 overs.

In his post-match interview, Ibrahim Zadran expressed gratitude to Sachin Tendulkar for his words of encouragement, as the legendary cricketer had visited the Afghanistan training session on the eve of this match.

Zadran’s outstanding and historic performance garnered well-deserved praise from the cricket community on various social media platforms.