Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz clobbers his 7th T20I half-century: Key stats
Afghanistan cricket team opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz struck a fine 43-ball 70 in the third and final T20I versus Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Gurbaz's heroics helped Afghanistan score 209/5 in 20 overs. Notably, the star player added 88 runs for the opening wicket alongside Hazratullah Zazai. Gurbaz fell in the 14th over, being dismissed by the in-form Wanindu Hasaranga. Here are further details.
A solid effort from the blade of Gurbaz
It was a solid start for the Afghan openers as they put on a show in the powerplay overs, scoring 72 runs. Zazai hit 38 runs from 19 balls, striking at 200. Gurbaz managed 29 from 17 balls. Dananjaya de Silva broke the stand before Gurbaz went along and got a fifty. Gurbaz managed a solitary four thereafter but dealt in singles and twos.
Gurbaz races past 1,300 runs in T20Is
Playing his 52nd match, Gurbaz now owns 1,367 runs at an average of 26.28. In addition to his seven fifties, he owns a ton with a strike rate of 138.92. As per ESPNcricinfo, in six matches versus Sri Lanka, Gurbaz averages a solid 41.33. He hit his second fifty and raced to 248 runs. Gurbaz hit his sixth fifty on Asian soil (1,157 runs).
Gurbaz is closing in on 4,000 T20 runs
With his knock of 70, Gurbaz now owns 3,976 runs in T20 cricket. He has an average of close to 25 and owns a strike rate of close to 150. Gurbaz smashed his 25th fifty in the format. He owns two centuries.
