Afghanistan had a famous win over defending champions England, at the Arun Jaitely Stadium, New Delhi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the star with the bat for the Afghans. The opener gave them the best possible start as he smacked the English bowlers all around the park. Gurbaz was looking for a hundred but his blistering knock came to an end after he was dismissed on 80 runs off 57 balls, hitting 8 fours and 4 sixes.
Gurbaz had a no-stopping approach towards the bowlers as he smacked the English bowlers all around the park. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter is currently the highest run scorer for the Afghans with 148 runs in the World Cup. He also got two good starts against Bangladesh and India respectively but could not convert it to a big score. At the time of his batting, every fan and the dugout was thinking that they might score 300 plus runs against the English. He was playing with a positive mindset and backing his ability.
The two openers were looking in great touch though Ibrahim Zadran was playing more of a supportive role. They reached 100 runs in 12.4 overs and both the batters stitched a partnership of 114 runs. But as soon as both the batters were dismissed, a middle-order failure for them led them to score 284 runs before being bowled out.
I was really well prepared for that game: Rahmanullah Gurbaz
After the match, he said, "When playing against a team like England, everyone will be under pressure. My mindset was only one thing – just to be positive. I was really well prepared for that game – not only for that game, but for this competition and that was the reason I was not under pressure."
"I was just trying to be positive against everyone, irrespective of whether it was a pacer or spinner. I was really happy with my innings. Unfortunately, I missed my hundred. But I am still happy that we won." Head coach Jonathan Trott was also pleased with way Gurbaz batted against England.