On 24 August 2023, Pakistan took on Afghanistan in the second game of the ongoing three-match ODI series in Hambantota. The Men in Green won the series opener convincingly and hence, they were looking for another win to seal the series. While the Afghans were looking for a win to keep them alive.
Speaking of the match, the Afghan skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat first. He said that any score over 260 would be good and they will try hard to bounce back. He further added that Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai were dropped while Riaz Hassan and Shahidullah Kamal came in.
It was Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 5th ODI century
Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam said that bowling first would not be a big problem for them as the pitch looked quite good to him. He also added that they would look to improve their batting performance and confirmed that they did not make any changes to their playing XI from the first match. For Afghanistan, Rahmanullah Gurabaz and Ibrahim Zadran came out to bat and they managed to give a solid start to his team. In 21.5 overs, they managed to reach the 100-run partnership. Then, they continued to show their shots as the first wicket fell after a mammoth opening partnership of 227 runs.
Zadran got out on 80 runs off 101 balls, including six fours and two sixes. But, it was Gurbaz who showed some outstanding shots and notched up his fifth ODI century off 122 balls. Finally, he got out on 151 runs off 151 balls, including 14 fours and three sixes. In the last 29 deliveries, he smashed 51 runs and Afghanistan were flying as they were looking to post a mammoth total well over the 300-run mark. Finally, in 50 overs, they scored 300 runs for five wickets. For the Men in Green, Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets for 58 runs in 10 overs. Both Naseem Shah and Usama Mir took one wicket each.
Here is how fans have reacted:
But bro they have 150+ pace attack ? 💀
— Deep ( ⏳ ) (@Deep12955533) August 24, 2023
Dream for zimbu😔💔
— 𝐚𝐝𝐢🚩 (@iamadix18) August 24, 2023
Way better than Zimbu😂 pic.twitter.com/3BpFUXmoAu
— Dhruv (@ImDhruv_18) August 24, 2023
congratulations Rahmanullah
— Sufyan Khan (@khanspeaks_) August 24, 2023
Lekin o to 150+ speed wale hai
— जेंटल मैन (@gentleman07_) August 24, 2023
Such a Explosive performance 🔥🔥
— Renu K 🌺 (@Talk2Rinki) August 24, 2023
This young talent is a genuine blaster 👌
— Manoj Kumar 🕉️🇮🇳 (@manoj_begu) August 24, 2023
Brilliant composure shown by gurbaaz 😬
— Vishal (@Fanpointofviews) August 24, 2023