On Friday, June 7, Afghanistan’s openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran became members of an exclusive group of batters as they amassed 100 runs for their opening partnership for the second time in the T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. Gurbaz and Ibrahim scored 103 runs in their second encounter at Providence Stadium in Guyana against New Zealand, following their 154 in their 125-run victory against Uganda in the first Group C game.
Gurbaz and Ibrahim’s 103 runs together matched the record for the most consecutive 100-run partnerships held by India’s Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Days after he scored 76 runs against Uganda, Rahmanullah Gurbaz struck 80 off just 56 deliveries. On Friday, against New Zealand, Ibrahim Zadran added 44 off 41 balls. In Afghanistan’s opening T20 World Cup 2024 match against Uganda, he had scored seventy. New Zealand’s careless fielding on Friday aided Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran.
In their debut game, the BlackCaps appeared uneasy on the field as they botched run-out opportunities on the powerplay and lost catches. Gurbaz and Ibrahim were each dropped once during the powerplay, and in the opening six overs of his first competitive international encounter following an injury layoff, wicketkeeper Devon Conway missed two stumping opportunities.
Gurbaz and Ibrahim seized the chance and quickly brought Afghanistan up to 100. Notably, after ten overs, Afghanistan was 55 for 0, as the two openers judged the pitch’s slowness and decided not to risk anything. But during the beverage break, Gurbaz and Ibrahim both let go and altered
MOST HUNDRED-PLUS PARTNERSHIPS IN T20 WORLD CUPS
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (3) – Pakistan
Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden (2) – Australia
Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan (2) – England
Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (2) – Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (2) – India
David Warner, Shane Watson (2) – Australia
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran (2) – Afghanistan
MOST SUCCESSIVE HUNDRED-PLUS STANDS
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (2) in 2014
Gurbaz-Ibrahim (2) in 2024.