Afghanistan's Gurbaz And Zadran Eclipse Kohli-Sharma's T20 World Cup Record

The Afghanistan opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran set a new record with their 118-run partnership against Australia in the Super 8 match held in St Vincent on Sunday, June 23. This achievement surpasses the previous record held by India's Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Asked to bat first on a challenging surface, Gurbaz and Zadran displayed resilience, keeping Australia wicketless for over 15 overs. Their century stand helped Afghanistan post a total of 148/6 in 20 overs. Gurbaz top-scored with 60 runs off 49 balls, while Zadran contributed 51 off 48 balls.

Afghanistan managed to add only 30 runs after Gurbaz's departure on the fifth ball of the 16th over. Despite this, their efforts were enough as Australia fell short by 21 runs, marking Afghanistan's first win against Australia and keeping them in contention for the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals.

With their 188-run stand, Gurbaz and Zadran set multiple records. They now hold the record for the most hundred-plus partnerships in a single edition of the T20 World Cup, achieving this feat three times.

This record was previously shared by India's Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (twice in T20 World Cup 2014), Australia's Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden (twice in T20 World Cup 2007), and Pakistan's Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan (twice in T20 World Cup 2021).

Gurbaz and Zadran have also equalled Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's record for the most century partnerships at the T20 World Cup, with both pairs achieving this milestone three times.

Afghanistan will now be hoping for India to defeat Australia, which would enhance their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals if they manage to beat Bangladesh on Tuesday.