Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran of Afghanistan have achieved consecutive 100-run opening stands in the T20 World Cup, making Afghanistan the only team to achieve this feat twice in successive games.
Gurbaz and Zadran have been batting at a different level. It took 13.2 overs for the Afghan openers to cross the century mark. After reaching 103 runs, Afghanistan lost their first wicket with Ibrahim Zadran dismissed for 44 runs from 41 balls, including three fours and two sixes, by New Zealand pacer Matt Henry.
In their previous game, Gurbaz and Zadran made the second-highest first-wicket partnership (154) in T20 World Cup history during their 2024 tournament opener against Uganda. This record is only surpassed by Jos Buttler and Alex Hales’ 170-run partnership against India in the 2022 World Cup semifinals. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s 152-run opening stand in the 2021 World Cup ranks third.
Batting first, Afghanistan scored 159-6 against New Zealand, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz contributing significantly with 80 runs off 56 balls, including five sixes and five fours.
Afghanistan started their 2024 campaign with a massive 125-run win against Uganda. A victory against New Zealand would give them a significant advantage for next-round qualification.
