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'Sachin Tendulkar Did...,' Ibrahim Zadran Opens Up Following His Record-breaking Ton

image-loocyddfIbrahim Zadran becomes the first Afghan player to score World Cup century.

The story of Afghanistan in the ongoing World Cup 2023 in India continues to mesmerize everyone. It has been a record-breaking for the Afghan Atalans in various terms and on Tuesday, in a must win game for Afghanistan against Australia, opener Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghan player to hit a century in World Cup cricket.

The 21-year-old has been breaking records from the very word go in his ODI-career and it was a sight to behold to see him becoming the first man from Afghanistan to achieve the feat of becoming the first centurion from his country in World Cup history. The dynamic right-hander completed his century off 131 balls and also became the fourth youngest player to score a hundred in a World Cup.

He was well accompanied by Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai and some late blitz from Rashid Khan at the end which helped the team to reach a formidable 291-run total. Zadran, who finished on 129 runs off 143 balls, expressed his feelings after the historic knock.

Speaking to commentators during the mid-innings break, Zadran was overwhelmed to become the first centurion in the World Cup for his country. He further revealed how determined he was to do well and hit a ton after missing an opportunity against Pakistan in Chennai.

"I am feeling so good to be the first Afghanistan batter to score a World Cup hundred. I have worked really hard before this tournament. I did miss my 100 against Pakistan, but after that match, I said to my coaches that I would score a 100 in my next 3 games," Zadran said.

Zadran further added that a good chat with Sachin Tendulkar motivated him and his team ahead of the big clash against the Aussies. Afghanistan are currently placed sixth in the points table with four wins in seven games and are pretty much alive to make it to their first ever World Cup Semi-final.

"I had a good chat with Sachin Tendulkar yesterday. It was an amazing experience which I can't express in words. He said to me that he was a ball picker (ball-boy) here before he started cricket. Before the match, I said that I would do what Sachin Tendulkar did and make him proud," Zadran added.

Eyeing a place in the tour four, Shahidi and his men will be looking to get the maximum points from the ongoing clash against Australia, which will be followed by another tough game against the Proteas in Ahmedabad.

On the other hand, Australia will be needing a record-breaking chase and beat their highest successful chase in the World Cup (287 vs NZ, 1996) to get the better of Afghans in Mumbai. At the time of writing this, Australia are 43 for the loss of two wickets after six overs with David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne in the middle.