PAK vs AFG: Record galore for Rahmanullah Gurbaz as he smashes 151 vs Pakistan in Hambantota

Add as a preferred source on Google

Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz on Thursday smashed a cracking hundred in the must-win second ODI for his side in Hambantota. Notably, Afghanistan were bundled out for 59 in the first ODI as they faced a 142-run defeat at the hands of Babar Azam-led side on Tuesday.

Gurbaz looked like a man on a mission and showed intent from ball one. The likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah who were all over Afghan batters in the first ODI, had no answer to the brilliance of Gurbaz who smashed 14 fours and three sixes against them.

Gurbaz, who represents Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, fought pain in his left hand to bring up his fifth ODI hundred off 122 balls. A pushed a Shaheen Afridi delivery towards long-off to run a single and reach to the 3-figure mark.

The right-hand batter soon shifted gears, smashing four back-to-back boundaries off Haris Rauf. Gurbaz soon became only the second Afghanistan batter after his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran to score 150 runs in an ODI innings.

Gurbaz with the feat also became the only wicketkeeper-batter in the world to score 150 runs in an ODI match against Pakistan. His 227-run partnership with Zadran (80) is now the second-highest opening stand against Pakistan in ODIs.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz also surpassed Babar Azam to become the third fastest to 5 ODI hundred. He achieved the feat in his 23rd innings. Babar Azam took 25 innings to hit five ODI hundreds. Overall, Gurbaz is third on the elite list. Imam-ul-Haq and Quinton de Kock took just 19 innings to bring up their respective fifth hundreds.

151 off 151 is also the highest ODI score by Gurbaz now. His previous best came against Bangladesh earlier this year as he scored 145 off 125 balls in Chattogram.

Gurbaz's marathon innings came to an end in the 45th over of the match after he tried making room and smashing the ball over cover but ended up edging the ball into the gloves of wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan.

As the opener cursed himself for failing to not stay in the middle for the whole of fifty overs, Pakistan players including Babar Azam hugged and congratulated the star batter for his knock which helped Afghanistan post a 300-run for the first time against Pakistan.