Kingstown (St. Vincent): A Oceans of records have toppled during the Super Eight clash between Australia and Afghanistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 at Arnos Vale Ground here on Sunday.
Winning the toss, Australia opted to bowl first where cricket experts and pundits thought otherwise. However, both teams got what they wanted as Afghanistan were asked to bat first on the tricky surface. Openers Rahmanilah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who have emerged as the best opening pair of the edition so far, did what they have done this season. They took their time scoring run-a-ball, but once they got familiar with the pace and bounce of the pitch, broke the shackles and escalated, forging the massive 118-run stand.
It was the third hundred-run opening stand between the pair in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Notably, none of the other openers of other teams have managed to do it once throughout the ongoing competition. With this third-century stand, the duo has become the pair with the most 100-run partnerships in a single edition of the T20 World Cups. They have also equalled the record of Pakistan's pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for hundred-plus partnerships in the history of the marquee event. It was also the third-highest partnership stitched up against Australia in the 17-year history of the mega event.
However, Australia made a comeback by breaking the partnership. Following Gurbaz's wicket, the Asian side's batting line-up collapsed like a house of cards as Afghanistan could manage to add only 30 runs.
