World Cup: Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai slams his second ODI fifty
Afghanistan's middle-order batter Azmatullah Omarzai has slammed his second half-century in ODI cricket. The 23-year-old smashed 62 against India in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Omarzai shared a century stand with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi after the Afghans were reduced to 63/3, electing to bat first. The former made his World Cup debut in the ongoing edition.
Omarzai plays a defiant knock
Omarzai came to the middle after Afghanistan lost Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Rahmat Shah for just 63 runs. Omarzai joined forces with Shahidi and took the Afghans forward. The duo added 121 runs, taking Afghanistan past 180. However, all-rounder Hardik Pandya knocked Omarzai over in the 35th over. The latter smashed a 69-ball 62, a knock laced with 2 fours and 4 sixes.
A look at his ODI stats
Omarzai made his ODI debut in January 2021 against Ireland in Abu Dhabi. In 15 ODIs, he has smashed 221 runs at an average of 27.62. His strike rate in the format reads 83.08. The tally includes two fifties, with the 62-run knock being his highest score. His only other half-century in the format came against Bangladesh.
