Rahmanullah Gurbaz owns these prominent feats in ODIs
Afghanistan's wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz recently entered the cricket history books by becoming the second-youngest player to score eight ODI centuries. He achieved the milestone during the third and deciding match against Bangladesh on Monday. Gurbaz's ton helped Afghanistan defeat Bangladesh by five wickets in Sharjah and seal the series 2-1. Here we look at Gurbaz's feats and records in ODI cricket.
Second-youngest to eight ODI tons
As per ESPNcricinfo, Gurbaz became the second-youngest to score eight hundreds at 22 years and 357 days, beating Indian cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Tendulkar had held the record at 22 years and 312 days while Kohli did it at 23 years and 27 days. Meanwhile, South Africa's Quinton de Kock tops this list as he accomplished eight ODI tons at just 22 years and 312 days.
Most ODI tons for Afghanistan
Gurbaz now has the most centuries by an Afghanistan player in ODIs, with Mohammad Shahzad trailing him with six centuries. The one he scored on Monday was his third against Bangladesh and also his third in Sharjah in this format. Ibrahim Zadran is Afghanistan's only other centurion against the Tigers in the 50-over format. He has accomplished the milestone just once so far.
Second-highest average for Afghanistan in ODIs
Having played 46 ODI matches, Gurbaz has raced to 1,769 runs. He now owns eight tons and six fifties. As per ESPNcricinfo, his average of 39.31 is the second-best among Afghanistan batter with at least 1,000 runs in the format. He is only behind Ibrahim Zadran, who averages a solid 48. His strike rate (88.49) is only third to Rashid Khan (104.42) and Najibullah Zadran (89.10) among Afghanistan batters (Minimum: 1,000 runs).
Century on ODI debut
In January 2021, Gurbaz became the first Afghan batter to score a century on debut. He accomplished the milestone against Ireland in Abu Dhabi. He made a run-a-ball 127 in that game. South Africa's Temba Bavuma is the only other batter with an ODI debut hundred against Ireland. At 19 years and 54 days, he also became the youngest Afghanistan batter with an ODI century.
First Afghanistan batter to break into top 10
In September 2024, Gurbaz became the first Afghan batter to break into the ICC ODI batters' top 10 rankings. His remarkable performance in Afghanistan's maiden ODI series win against South Africa played a significant role in this achievement. The swashbuckler jumped to the eighth spot after the series triumph.
