“I told myself before the game that I would bat like Sachin Tendulkar,” Ibrahim Zadran stated following his historic century against Australia.

Tuesday, November 7, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, is Match 39 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 between Australia and Afghanistan. Hashmatullah Shahidi, the captain of Afghanistan, won the toss and chose to bat first. Ibrahim Zadran, who became the first player from his country to achieve a century in the history of the ODI World Cup, supported this decision.

After that, Ibrahim Zadran played a fantastic innings of 129* off 143 balls, hitting three sixes and eight fours. He was the only player who could carry the Afghanistan batting lineup, enabling his team to reach a respectable 291/5 in the 50 overs that were permitted.

Following his historic innings, Ibrahim Zadran conveyed his happiness at reaching the milestone and disclosed that he had promised his coaching staff he would soon reach 100 runs.

“I’m thrilled to have achieved Afghanistan’s first-ever century in the World Cup.” I put a lot of effort into this competition; while I lost to Pakistan 100 times, I succeeded today. I informed my coaching staff that I felt like I would score a hundred runs in the next three games as we were speaking. “Ball is coming so well, and the wicket is looking good,” Zadran remarked during the mid-inning interview.

In addition, he expressed gratitude to the late Sachin Tendulkar of India for sharing his expertise before the game.

I had a nice conversation with Sachin Tendulkar, and he gave me a lot of confidence and energy: Ibrahim Zadran

We could have scored 330 if we had formed strong partnerships and held onto wickets, but in the end, Rashid performed admirably despite losing a few wickets and not forming the kind of partnership we were hoping for. We’ll do our best to field and bowl well. He shared his experience with me, and I told him before the game that I would bat like him. He gave me a lot of confidence and enthusiasm,” he continued.

Putting advice to action 🏏

Ibrahim Zadran recalls special chat with Sachin Tendulkar after maiden @cricketworldcup century ❤️#CWC23 #AUSvAFG pic.twitter.com/ij4KMw1vXw

— Khan ZaiB (@kb_shinwari) November 7, 2023