ICC World Cup: Azmatullah Omarzai smokes 97* versus South Africa
Extending his sensational run in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, Azmatullah Omarzai has smoked his third half-century of the tournament. His latest blitzkrieg came for Afghanistan versus South Africa in match number 42 in Ahmedabad. The young all-rounder batted valiantly and scored an unbeaten 107-ball 97 (7 fours, 3 sixes). Omarzai also scored the second-highest individual score for Afghanistan in the World Cup.
Another fine hand from Omarzai
Batting first in the duel, Afghanistan suffered a top-order collapse. They were reeling at 45/3 when Omarzai arrived in the middle. He joined forces with Rahmat Shah and the duo added 49 runs for the fourth wicket. Despite the flow of wickets from the other end, Omarzai continued to bat well. His 97* helped SA finish at 244/10.
A look at his ODI stats
Omarzai made his ODI debut in January 2021 against Ireland in Abu Dhabi. In 22 ODIs, he has raced to 490 runs at an average of 44.54. His strike rate in the format reads 91.07. The tally includes four fifties with 97* being his best score. With his right-arm pace, he has scalped 13 wickets at an economy of 5.70.
Omarzai slams these records
As per Cricbuzz, Omarzai has slammed the second-highest individual scores for Afghanistan in World Cups. Ibrahim Zadran leads the way with 129* versus Australia in the World Cup 2023. Omarzai has 353 runs in the ongoing World Cup. He is the sixth player to score 350-plus runs from No. 5 or below in a World Cup edition. Ben Stokes (455, WC 2019) is atop.
