In a very short period of time in international cricket, Rahmanullah Gurbaz had made a place and name for himself in Afghanistan cricket. He has cemented his place in the Afghan squad for the limited-overs format. His rise has been exceptional and he will continue to grow in stature in Afghan cricket. In a short international career, he has played some jaw-dropping innings in ODI format. In this article, we will take a look at his top 3 innings in ODI cricket.
151 vs Pakistan, 2023
Rahmanullah Gurbaz played his best knock in ODI cricket against Pakistan. He made this wonderful century in the August month of this year at Hambantota in Sri Lanka. Afghanistan batted first in this match and the right-arm along with his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran built a massive opening partnership to launch the first innings. The duo added 227 runs on the board before Zadran got. Gurbaz ended up making 151 runs in as many balls, guiding Afghanistan to a total beyond 300.
145 vs Bangladesh, 2023
Another batting masterclass from the Kolkata Knight Riders player in the IPL against an Asian rival. Unlike the earlier one, this century came in a winning cause. In the 2nd ODI of the series against Bangladesh, Gurbaz laid the platform for Afghanistan with his batting onslaught. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first but Rahmanullah Gurbaz along with his opening partner proved their decision wrong. Once again, they built a massive opening stand of 256 runs which put Afghanistan in a very comfortable position. In the end, Afghanistan scored 331 runs in the first innings and clinched the match eventually by a comfortable margin of 142 runs.
127 vs Ireland, 2021
His third-best score in ODI cricket. Another quality century but this time against Ireland. The opening batter played this knock in the first match of the ODI series between the two teams in Abu Dhabi. The Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan won the toss and elected to bat first. Gurbaz was instrumental in giving Afghanistan a great start. His contribution with 127 runs made it easy for Afghanistan to put up a challenging target for Ireland. Courtesy of a brilliant century from Gurbaz Afghanistan scored 287 runs in the first innings. The match ended on a thrilling note as Afghanistan won by 16 runs and Rahmanullah Gurbaz was adjudged the player of the match for his century.
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