1st T20I: Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran hammers career-best 87* vs WI
What's the story
The Afghanistan cricket team stunned the West Indies with a convincing 38-run victory in the first T20I. The match was played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Monday. Ibrahim Zadran and Darwish Rasooli were instrumental in setting up Afghanistan's formidable total of 181/3, with both players scoring impressive half-centuries. The former, who scored a career-best 87*, recorded his 14th half-century in T20Is. Here are his stats.
Match highlights
Zadran and Rasooli's stellar partnership
Afghanistan got off to a rocky start, losing two wickets with just 19 runs on the board. However, the partnership between Zadran and Rasooli (84 off 59 balls) turned the game around. The duo put on a massive 162-run stand off just 106 balls, taking Afghanistan to a respectable total of 181/3 in their allotted overs. In the second innings, West Indies struggled against Afghanistan's disciplined spin attack. They could only manage 143/9 in their 20 overs.
Career
A look at Zadran's stats
Zadran smashed eight fours and three sixes en route to his career-best 56-ball 87*. The opener, who is Afghanistan's fifth-highest run-getter in the format, has raced to 1,645 runs from 59 T20Is at an average of 32.25. This was his 14th fifty in T20Is as his strike rate of 112.59 is certainly on the lower side. 1,074 of his T20I runs have come in Asia at 31.58 (50s: 9).
Information
Zadran breaks this record of Mohammad Shahzad
As per ESPNcricinfo, Zadran's tally of 14 scores of 50 or more in T20Is is now the most for an Afghanistan batter. The opener broke the tie with Mohammad Shahzad, who boasts 13 such scores. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (12) is the only other Afghan batter with more than 10 50-plus scores.