Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the explosive opener for Afghanistan, equaled India’s legendary Virat Kohli’s record for most ODI hundreds before turning twenty-three. Gurbaz set the groundwork for Afghanistan to win a stunning ODI series against South Africa, their first-ever series victory against a team ranked in the top five of the ICC rankings. During the second ODI in Sharjah, Gurbaz changed the game’s dynamic and ruined South Africa’s bowling strategy.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz relied on his flawless stroke play to take up boundaries as he easily brushed past South African bowlers. Reaching the highest score of any batter in the country, he quickly reached his sixth ODI century for Afghanistan. In the ODI format, he also overtook Babar, who scored six hundred before turning 23. Now that he has reached a century in the 50-over format, Gurbaz is on par with Kohli, who was also unbeaten before turning 23.
Afghanistan’s Gurbaz Chases ODI Record
Rahmanullah Gurbaz will have the chance to tie “Master Blaster” Sachin Tendulkar and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock when the third One-Day International is played on Sunday. In the ODI format, both batsmen amassed an incredible eight hundred before turning twenty-three. Along with scoring his sixth century in the One-Day International format, Gurbaz and Riaz Hassan established an important opening partnership of 88 runs.
Gurbaz found the perfect amount of assistance from his fellow countrymen and hit boundaries at will throughout his time at the wicket. With three maximums and ten fours in 110 deliveries, Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored at a strike rate of 95.45 to collect 105 runs. Gurbaz appeared exhausted in his shot, but Nandre Burger‘s delivery broke through and crashed onto the stumps, ending his glorious stay on the crease.
After leaving, Afghanistan’s total was increased to 311/4 because of an important cameo by Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 86. Rashid Khan’s spin magic proved too much for South Africa to overcome, as they were defeated by 177 runs. A hamstring injury sidelined Rashid for his nine overs, but he still managed to take five wickets at a cost of just 19 runs.
Afghanistan Clinches Series
The third One-Day International between Afghanistan and South Africa will take place at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday, following their commanding 2-0 lead in the series. Afghanistan has already won 13 bilateral ODI series; five of those matches were against Zimbabwe, four against Ireland, two against Scotland, and one each against Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
In men’s ODI series wins over South Africa, Afghanistan is currently the eighth team to do so. Out of all the Full Members, only Zimbabwe and Ireland have not won an ODI series against South Africa. In the process of giving the Afghans an unstoppable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, Rashid Khan celebrated his 26th birthday to the fullest.
With the ball in hand, Rashid also had a spectacular day after shocking the Proteas with impressive 9-1-19-5 statistics. To surpass the West Indies‘ record of 285 runs completed in Sharjah, which was established back in 1993, South Africa had to chase 312. However, under duress, the visitors completely collapsed and were dismissed for 134 in 34.2 overs.
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