Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his ninth ODI hundred and the fastest of his career, in 48 balls, during the Dharamsala ODI against India on Saturday. It was the fastest century by an Afghanistan batter in ODIs by balls faced, surpassing the previous record, which was held by Mohammad Shahzad (72 balls vs Scotland), by a country mile. Despite scripting history, Gurbaz missed out on Shahid Afridi’s all-time record for scoring the fastest ODI century against India.
Former Pakistan captain Afridi had slammed a 45-ball century during an ODI against India in Kanpur in 2005.
Fastest ODI hundreds vs India by balls faced
45 – Shahid Afridi (PAK), Kanpur, 2005
48 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG), Dharamsala, 2026
57 – James Faulkner (AUS), Bengaluru, 2013
57 – AB de Villiers (SA), Mumbai WS, 2015
57 – Michael Bracewell (NZ), Hyderabad, 2023
Gurbaz reached his ninth ODI hundred off 48 balls as he leapt up in the air, kissed the ground and acknowledged the applause from the Afghan dressing room.
He put on 118 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, who made 27, after Afghanistan slipped to 26-3 in 4.3 overs.
Despite his ton, India bowled out the opposition for 194 in a rain-reduced 25-overs-a-side ODI contest.
The match started four hours and 15 minutes late due to persistent rain in Dharamsala, and Afghanistan lost three early wickets before Gurbaz hit back in his 102 off 51 balls.
Gurbaz counter-attacked with a flurry of boundaries and finished with eight fours and eight sixes before being bowled by medium-pace bowler Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Shahidi became another debutant Harsh Dubey‘s first wicket and the left-arm spinner took two more including one from a stunning catch by skipper Shubman Gill, who flew to take a handed grab at first slip.
(With AFP Inputs)