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Ibrahim Zadran became the first-ever Afghanistan opener to score a century in ODI World Cup history. Zadran was close to breaking the record for highest individual score by a batter against Australia in World Cups. After the unbeaten 129-run knock at Wankhede Stadium, Zadran revealed that he got a confidence boost from legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar who had a conversation with the Afghanistan team on the eve of their clash against Australia. Zadran went on to say that he had said before the match that he would bat like ‘Master Blaster’ against the Australian side.
“I had a good chat with Sachin Tendulkar; he shared his experience and I said before the match that I will bat like Sachin Tendulkar; he gave me a lot of energy and confidence,” the 21-year-old told the broadcasters during the innings break.
Zadran was ecstatic after etching his name in record books as the first Afghan batter with a century in World Cups. He rued the missed opportunities earlier in the tournament.
“I am feeling great to score Afghanistan's maiden hundred in (World Cup). I worked really hard for this tournament, I missed a hundred against Pakistan but made it today. I was talking to my coaching staff and I told them I have a feeling I will get a hundred in next three matches,” Zadran said.
He lauded Rashid Khan for an 18-ball 35 cameo that helped Afghanistan post 291/5 on the board with some unorthodox hitting against Australian pacers.
“Wicket is looking good, ball is coming so well. If we had made good partnerships and kept wickets in hand, we would have scored 330 but we lost a few wickets and didn't get the kind of partnership (we were looking for) but Rashid played well in the end. We have plan for every opposition and it was our aim to put this score. We will try to bowl and field well,” he added.
Zadran also broke the record for most runs in a calendar year in ODIs for Afghanistan. So far, he has scored 839 runs from 19 innings at an average of 49.35 including two centuries and five fifties.
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