Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan’s opener, has expressed his intention to preserve the bat he used to score 87 in their historic victory over Pakistan during the 2023 World Cup match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Afghanistan’s victory against Pakistan in Chennai marked their first-ever win over Pakistan in One Day International (ODI) cricket. Before this match, Afghanistan had faced seven consecutive defeats in ODIs against Pakistan.
Babar Azam, as Pakistan’s captain, chose to bat first in the game against Afghanistan. Pakistan scored 282/7, with the captain himself being the highest scorer with 74 runs from 92 balls.
In the final stages of their innings, Iftikhar Ahmed added 40 runs from 27 balls. However, Afghanistan successfully chased the target, reaching 283 runs in 49 overs while losing just two wickets.
Ibrahim played a key role in his team’s chase, scoring the most runs with 87 off 113 balls. He formed an impressive 130-run partnership for the opening wicket with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who made 65 runs off 53 balls.
Rahmat Shah remained unbeaten with 77 runs off 84 balls, and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi contributed 48* off 45 balls to lead Afghanistan to this memorable victory after the openers departed.
Ibrahim shared his thoughts on this historic win in a video posted on the ICC’s Instagram page:
“I am going to keep this bat in the frame. Unfortunately, I missed my hundred from this bat. I wanted to win the game for my country Afghanistan. Finish the game with this bat.”
Ibrahim played a fantastic innings, hitting 10 boundaries with 10 fours, before being caught behind off Hasan Ali’s delivery.
His opening partner Gurbaz displayed an aggressive style, with nine fours and a six in his innings. Rahmat Shah and Shahidi, with their experience, played a crucial role in guiding the team to victory.
Ibrahim Zadran dedicated his Player of the Match award to Afghans being deported from Pakistan
After being awarded Player of the Match for his remarkable batting performance, Ibrahim dedicated his accolade to the Afghans facing deportation from Pakistan. He mentioned during the post-match presentation:
“I would like to dedicate his award to those who are sent back to Afghanistan from Pakistan.”
The 21-year-old batsman’s words followed reports that Pakistan has instructed all undocumented refugees to depart the country by November 1.
Pakistani officials have stated that more than 51,000 Afghan individuals have been repatriated since the announcement of the deadline for the removal of undocumented migrants.
An estimated 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan are said to be without proper legal documents.
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