Mumbai: Ibrahim Zadran spent the longest time with Sachin Tendulkar on the eve of their World Cup match against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium, taking batting lessons from the cricket icon.
Sachin Tendulkar spent time with the Afghanistan players while they were training at the Wankhede on Monday. The 21-year-old opener on Tuesday became the first player from Afghanistan to record a hundred in a World Cup match and it seems that the one-on-one chat with the master had its effect.
Zadran thanked the batting great for his invaluable tips moments after reaching the three-figure mark.
Thanks to his 129, Afghanistan posted a challenging 291 for five against an attack comprising Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa. "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 Star Sports - the official broadcaster following his 143-ball innings.
Zadran's knock was laced with eight fours and three sixes, as it allowed Afghanistan to post a challenging 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 the next three matches," the right-handed opening batter added.
On Monday evening, Sachin Tendulkar, a veteran of 463 ODIs gave Zadran tips about batting for longer durations and exploring more options while playing shots. The legend also told them to fix a goal (team goal). Zadran said the Wankhede surface 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. But, we lost a few wickets and didn't get the kind of partnership (we aimed for). But Rashid (Khan) played well in the end," he concluded.
