During the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 match against Sri Lanka, Afghanistan's wicketkeeper-batter Ikram Alikhil suffered a finger injury. The game, held in Pune, saw Afghanistan's skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi opting to bowl first after winning the toss. Sri Lanka began cautiously, scoring only four runs in the opening over.
On the fifth delivery of the second over, Dimuth Karunaratne struck the ball towards the cover region. Attempting to field it, Rahmat Shah made a throw to the striker's end. Alikhil, unfortunately, couldn't collect the ball cleanly, injuring his finger in the process. The medical team rushed to attend to him as he appeared to be in significant discomfort.
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Given Alikhil's evident discomfort, he retired to the pavilion, and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz took over the wicketkeeping duties. Gurbaz had previously kept wickets in the initial World Cup matches before Alikhil replaced him for the Delhi match against England. That game witnessed Afghanistan pulling off a sensational victory, causing a major upset.
In the memorable match against England, Gurbaz gave Afghanistan a blistering start, scoring a rapid 80 from just 57 balls. Meanwhile, Alikhil, batting in the middle order, played a pivotal role with a well-composed 58 off 66 balls. Their combined efforts helped Afghanistan recover from a shaky phase and post a challenging 284 runs.
Gurbaz, alongside Ibrahim Zadran, who scored 28, provided a robust start for Afghanistan in that game. The duo managed to bring up the team's half-century in a mere 6.3 overs, setting the momentum for the innings.
Following the victory over England, Afghanistan's captain Hashmatullah Shahidi lauded the efforts of openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil in the post-match interview
"I'm quite happy, all the teammates are happy. This is the best win for us, the confidence will be there for the next game and I'm very proud. The openers get a lot of credit. They gave us a great start but unfortunately, we lost back-to-back wickets in the middle again, lot of credit to the openers though, especially Gurbaz. Ikram was with us for the last 2 years and didn't get a lot of chances, today I believed in him and gave him a chance and he repaid my faith," said Shahidi.
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