Cricket World Cup 2023: “I will bat like Sachin Tendulkar,” Ibrahim Zadran credits the Master Blaster after becoming first batter to score World Cup century for Afghanistan

The 21-year-old also became the youngest batter to score a century against the five-time champions.

Cricket World Cup 2023: “I will bat like Sachin Tendulkar,” Ibrahim Zadran credits the Master Blaster after becoming first batter to score World Cup century for Afghanistan

Ibrahim Zadran and Sachin Tendulkar (Images via X)

Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran slammed his century in their debut World Cup season during a match against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday (November 7). In the past, several youngsters credited the great Sachin Tendulkar for his batting advice. Zadran also credited Sachin Tendulkar‘s pep talk after scoring his ton.

The 21-year-old became the youngest batter to score a century against the five-time champions. He played 143 balls to score an unbeaten 129 runs with eight boundaries and three sixes. After the match, he revealed that the Master Blaster gave him a lot of confidence.

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I had a good chat with Sachin Tendulkar; he shared his experience and I said before the match that I will bat like Sachin Tendulkar; he gave me a lot of energy and confidence.
Zadran during the mid-innings break.

Zadran’s century and a quickfire of an unbeaten 35 runs off 18 balls from Rashid Khan helped Afghanistan post their highest total in this World Cup (291/5). The youngster also became the first batter from Afghanistan to score a ton in the ODI World Cup.

Ibrahim Zadran’s World Cup campaign so far

Ibrahim Zadran started his World Cup campaign with a 22-run knock against Bangladesh in Afghanistan’s first match of the tournament. He scored 22 runs against India and following 28 and 14 runs against England and New Zealand, the Afghan youngster slammed his maiden half-century versus Pakistan.

Ibrahim Zadran
Ibrahim Zadran (Image via X)

He scored a brilliant 87 runs, the most by an Afghan batter, helping his team to produce a memorable win over Babar Azam and company. And after a 39-run knock against Sri Lanka, Zadran could add just 20 runs against the Netherlands, before his historic century in front of Australia.

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