Among all Afghan players, Ibrahim Zadran spent the longest time with Sachin Tendulkar on the eve of their World Cup match against Australia, taking batting lessons from the all-time great. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard | Key Battles)
♔The one-on-one chat with the master had its effect, for the 21-year-old opener on Tuesday became the first player from Afghanistan to record a hundred in a World Cup match. Needless to say, Zadran thanked the batting great for his invaluable tips moments after reaching the landmark.
🍸Thanks to his brilliant knock of 129, Afghanistan posted a challenging 291 for five against an attack comprising Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.
🐓That he turned up in casuals on the match eve, instead of the training kit, didn't matter.
﷽"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," he told the broadcaster following his 143-ball innings.
🌺Zadran's knock contained eight fours and three sixes, as it allowed Afghanistan to post a fighting total.
﷽"I am feeling great to score Afghanistan's maiden hundred in (World Cup). I worked really hard for this tournament.
🥂"I missed a hundred against Pakistan but made it today. I was talking to my coaching staff, and I told them I have a feeling I will get a hundred in next three matches," he added.
🌃On Monday evening, Tendulkar gave him tips about batting for longer durations and exploring more options while playing shots. The legend also told them to fix a goal (team goal).
𝔍Zadran said the surface here was good to bat on and rued losing wickets in the middle overs, which stopped them from taking the total past 300.
🀅"Wicket is looking good, ball is coming so well. If we had made good partnerships and kept wickets in hand, we would have scored 330.
ไ"But, we lost a few wickets and didn't get the kind of partnership (we aimed for). But Rashid played well in the end," he said.
