ICC World Cup: Abdullah Shafique clocks his second fifty-plus score
Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique scored a fine half-century against Australia in match 18 of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in Bengaluru. He registered his second ODI fifty and also his second 50-plus score in the ODI World Cup. Shafique's 61-ball 64 was laced with seven boundaries and two sixes. Pakistan were cruising at 134/1 when the youngster departed. Here's more.
A stellar knock from Shafique
Shafique showed positive intent right from the outset. He stitched an opening partnership of 134 runs with Imam-ul-Haq. The duo kept rotating the strike and also found the odd boundaries whenever they were on offer. This was his second 50-plus score in the ongoing ODI World Cup. He slammed a 103-ball 113 against Sri Lanka. Marcus Stoinis dismissed him with a bouncer.
Third-highest opening partnership for Pakistan in ODI World Cup
Shafique and Imam stitched an opening partnership of 134 runs. This was Pakistan's third-highest opening partnership in the ODI World Cup history. They were only behind Saeed Anwar and Wajahatullah Wasti's 194-run stand against New Zealand in the 1999 WC. Majid Khan and Sadiq Mohammad's 159-run partnership versus Sri Lanka in 1975 takes second place among opening partnerships for Pakistan in the competition's history.
First Pakistani batter to score a ton on WC debut
Earlier, as per statistician Bharath Seervi, Shafique became the first Pakistani player to score a century on a World Cup debut. He broke the record of Mohsin Khan, who previously held the highest score for Pakistan on World Cup debut (82 v Sri Lanka, 1983).
A look at his ODI numbers
The 23-year-old made his ODI debut for Pakistan against the Netherlands in August 2023. As per ESPNcricinfo, Shafique has raced to 277 runs in seven matches at an average of 39.57 (50s: 2, 100: 1). In the ongoing World Cup, Shafique has clocked 197 runs at 65.66. He has played six matches on Asian soil, racking up 275 runs at 45.83.
