Rahmanullah Gurbaz records highest WC score by an Afghanistan opener
Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has slammed his third half-century in One-Day Internationals. The star opener reached the mark against England in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup encounter in Delhi. Gurbaz shared a century stand with his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran after England elected to field. Notably, the former has smashed the highest score by an Afghanistan opener in the World Cup.
An emphatic knock from Gurbaz
Gurbaz played an attacking knock, having struck the bowlers all around the ground. Gurbaz, along with Zadran, brought up Afghanistan's fifty in the seventh over. While Zadran focused on rotating the strike, the former touched the 50-run mark off just 33 balls. Gurbaz eventually smashed a 57-ball 80 (8 fours and 3 sixes) before departing through an untimely run-out.
Gurbaz misses his maiden WC ton
Gurbaz could have become the first Afghanistan batter with a century in the ODI World Cups. Samiullah Shinwari holds the record for smashing the highest score for Afghanistan in the World Cup. He scored a vital 96 against Scotland in the 2015 edition. Notably, no other Afghan batter has more than 90 runs in this regard.
The highest WC score by an Afghanistan opener
Gurbaz has become only the third Afghanistan opener to record a 50+ score in the ODI World Cups. Rahmat Shah (62 vs West Indies, Leeds, WC 2019) and Javed Ahmadi (51 vs Scotland, Dunedin, WC 2015) are the other two. However, Gurbaz now has the highest score by an Afghanistan opener in the World Cup.
