AFG vs PAK: Rahmanullah Gurbaz smokes his highest ODI score
Rahmanullah Gurbaz has brought up his fifth century in ODIs. He accomplished the milestone in the ongoing second ODI against Pakistan in Hambantota. The young Afghanistan batter ended up scoring a run-a-ball 151, his highest score in ODI cricket (14 fours, 3 sixes). Meanwhile, Gurbaz has completed five centuries in just 23 ODIs. Here we look at his stats in the format.
A well-paced knock from Gurbaz
Afghanistan, who elected to bat after winning the toss, were off to a delightful start as Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran (80) brilliantly tackled Pakistan's threatening pace attack. While Zadran played cautiously, Gurbaz soon shifted gears after getting his eye in. The duo added 227 runs. Notably, Gurbaz also suffered cramps during his stay. However, he continued to tackle the opposition bowlers with precision.
A look at his ODI numbers
On the back of his knock, the youngster has raced to 948 runs in 23 ODIs at an average of 43.09. Besides five hundreds, he also has two ODI fifties. His previous highest score in this format read 145. Meanwhile, Gurbaz played this knock in his second ODI outing against Pakistan. He became the first Afghanistan batter with an ODI century against Pakistan.
Second fastest to five ODI centuries
Meanwhile, Gurbaz has become the second-fastest batter to accomplish five ODI tons. He took 23 innings to get the landmark. Pakistan's Imam-ul-Haq and South Africa's Quinton de Kock jointly hold the top spot, having taken 19 innings apiece. Meanwhile, the Afghanistan star displaced Pakistan skipper Babar Azam in the second position. The latter took 24 innings to score five hundreds.
Second-highest partnership for Afghanistan
Zadran and Gurbaz's 227-run stand is the second-highest partnership for Afghanistan in ODIs. The duo holds the pinnacle position as well, having added 256 runs against Bangladesh in June this year. Meanwhile, no other Afghanistan opening pair has added 150 or more runs in an ODI match. Zadran and Gurbaz now own 760 partnership runs in ODIs at 50.66.
