Rahmanullah Gurbaz Century. (Photo Source: ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)
Pakistan once again denied Afghanistan from creating history, winning the contest by one wicket despite a magnificent 151 from Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Early in the game, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. The Afghan openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Ibrahim Zadran, were ruthless against the Pakistani bowlers, recording the second-highest opening partnership for Afghanistan in ODIs. The Pakistani bowlers had no answer for the Afghan openers, as they put together 227 runs for the first wicket
Ibrahim Zadran reached his half-century before being dismissed by Usama Mir for 80 runs but Gurbaz continued to pile on the runs, eventually reaching 151 before being dismissed by Shaheen Afridi. His knock included 14 fours and 3 sixes. Cameos from Mohammad Nabi and Hashmatullah Shahidi helped Afghanistan to post 300 runs in their allocated 50 overs.
Chasing 300, Pakistan got off to a good start, with Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam putting on 118 runs for the second wicket. Babar scored his fifty before being dismissed by Fazalhaq Farooqi. Pakistan’s batting then lost momentum, and they lost wickets at regular intervals.
Imam-ul-Haq kept scoring, however, and he smashed 91 runs before being dismissed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah then came together and played some valuable cameos, scoring 48 and 10 runs, respectively. Pakistan eventually reached their target with one wicket and one ball remaining. Pakistan now lead the series with 2-0.
Meanwhile, let us look at the stats and numbers from the second ODI between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
151 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 151 is the second-highest score by an Afghanistan batter in ODIs. The highest ODI score by an Afghanistan batter is Ibrahim Zadran’s 162 against Sri Lanka in 2022
151 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz (151) scored his highest ODI score and his second highest score 145 came against Bangladesh in 2023 and his third highest score 127 came against Ireland in 2021.
151 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz became the first wicketkeeper to score 150 against Pakistan in ODIs
2 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his fifth ODI century, equaling Rahmat Shah for the second-most centuries by an Afghan batsman in ODIs. Mohammad Shahzad holds the record with six centuries.
2 –Rahmanullah Gurbaz has scored 5 centuries in 23 innings, the second-fewest innings to register five ODI hundreds. Imam-ul-Haq and Quinton de Kock share the first spot with 19 innings.
2 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his fifth century which is the second-most centuries by a batter at the age of 21. Quinton de Kock and Upul Tharanga top the list with six centuries.
151 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 151 is also the highest score by a batter in Hambantota. Previously, Kumar Sangakkara scored 133 against India in 2014.
151 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 151 runs, which is the fifth-highest score by a batter at the age of 21. Paul Stirling tops the list with 177, followed by Ibrahim Zadran (162) and Tamim Iqbal (154).
227 –Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran added 227 runs for the opening partnership, the second-highest opening partnership against Pakistan in ODIs. David Warner and Travis Head scored 284 in Adelaide in 2017.
4 –Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz became the fourth opening pair to record two double-century stands in a Calendar Year.
Here list of most Double Century Stands by Opening Pair in a Calendar Year in ODIs
2 -Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga in 2006
2 –Tilakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga in 2011
2 -Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka in 2017
2 –Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in 2023
227 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on a 227-run opening partnership, which is the second-highest opening partnership for Afghanistan in ODIs. The same pair holds the record for the highest opening partnership for Afghanistan, with 256 runs against Bangladesh in 2023.
Here list of the highest opening partnerships for Afghanistan in ODIs.
256 – Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs BAN in 2023
227 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran vs PAK in 2023
141 – Javed Ahmadi and Karim Sadiq vs NED in 2012
5142-Babar Azam has aggregated 5142 runs in 100 ODI innings, the most by a batter after 100 ODI innings. Hashim Amla is next on the list with 4946 runs.
6 – Pakistan now have won six consecutive ODIs against Afghanistan
302 – Pakistan’s 302 chase is the second-highest chase at Hambantota and the highest successful Chase in Hambantota in ODIs is 312 by Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe in 2017.
8 – Pakistan’s eighth one-wicket win in ODIs
Here is the list of one-wicket wins for Pakistan in ODIs
PAK vs NZ at Multan in 1984
PAK vs IND at Sharjah in 1986
PAK vs AUS at Perth in 1987
PAK vs WI at Lahore in 1987
PAK vs SA in Abu Dhabi in 2010
PAK vs SA at Dubai in 2010
PAK vs IND at Mirpur in 2014
PAK vs AFG at Hambantota in 2023