T20 WC: Gurbaz, Zadran script history with third century stand
Afghanistan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran scripted history with a 118-run partnership against Australia in the Super 8 Match 48 of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. Both batters slammed fifties at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown. En route, the duo became the first pair to record three century stands in an edition of the T20 WC. Here are the key stats.
How did the duo fare?
Though both openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60) and Ibrahim Zadran (51) hammered fifties, they couldn't accelerate even after getting settled. The Aussie bowlers bowled brilliantly in the death overs as the Afghan team went from 118/0 to 141/6. While Pat Cummins (3/22) claimed a hat-trick, Adam Zampa (2/28) dismissed two batters. Afghanistan eventually finished at 148/6.
Gurbaz, Zadran accomplish these records
Earlier in the tournament, the two openers added 154 runs against Uganda and 103 runs against New Zealand. As mentioned, they became the first pair to register three century partnerships in a T20 WC edition. Overall, they became the second pair after Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan with three 100-plus stands in the competition's history.
Gurbaz races past 1,600 T20I runs
Gurbaz made 60 off 49 balls (4 fours, 4 sixes). He has raced to 1,614 runs across 61 T20Is at 26.46. In addition to his 10 fifties, he owns a ton (SR: 139.34). Gurbaz has tallied 391 runs across 14 T20 WC games at 27.92. He is the leading run-getter of the ongoing event with 238 runs at 39.67 (50s: 3).
Decent effort from Ibrahim
Ibrahim ended up scoring 51 off 48 balls (6 fours). The star opener has now raced to 1,085 runs across 42 T20Is at 30.13. This was his eighth fifty as his strike rate reads 108.93. He hit his second T20 WC fifty as he now owns 291 runs across nine games at 32.33. Ibrahim has tallied 211 runs at 35.16 in the ongoing event.
Here are some more records
As per Cricbuzz, Gurbaz and Ibrahim's partnership run rate of 7.45 versus Australia is the second-lowest for a 100-plus stand in T20 WC. They also top the list for scoring 103 runs at a run rate of 7.10 against NZ earlier in the competition. Overall in T20Is, Gurbaz and Ibrahim have added 1,039 runs as a pair at 47.22 (100s: 4, 50s: 4).
