AUS vs AFG, World Cup 2023: Ibrahim Zadran becomes first Afghanistan player to score WC century

Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghanistan player to score a World Cup century.

Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran in action against Australia. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI/The Hindu

Top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghanistan player to score a World Cup century during the match against Australia at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

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The 21-year-old took 131 balls to reach the triple figure mark with a double off Josh Hazlewood’s delivery.

Earlier, Samiullah Shinwari’s 147-ball 96 against Scotland at the University Oval in Dunedin in the 2015 World Cup was the highest individual score by an Afghan batter in the quadrennial event.

Interestingly, Zadran’s 87 against Pakistan in Chennai at this World Cup is the third highest score by a Afghanistan batter in WC.

Zadran, at 21 years and 330 days, became the fourth youngest after Ireland’s Paul Sterling, Australia’s Ricky Ponting and Sri Lanka’s Avishka Fernando to score a World Cup century.

Afghanistan scored 227 for four in 45 overs after electing to bat first in a crucial game at the time of writing.

Afghanistan sits sixth with eight points in seven games, while Australia is placed third with 10 points in seven matches.