Hashmatullah Shahidi’s first ODI century. (Photo- PTI)
Hashmatullah Shahidi Hundred: In the third ODI match between India and Afghanistan on the Chennai ground, Afghan team captain Hashmatullah Shahidi played a marathon innings, which will always be remembered in the history of cricket. Handling the faltering Afghan innings after the initial setbacks, Shahidi scored the first and historic century of his 13-year long ODI career. During this memorable inning, he hit a total of 14 fours and sixes all around the field.
First century in 13 years of ODI career
Hashmatullah Shahidi made his ODI debut in the year 2013, but he had to wait for about 13 years for this first century innings. With this, he has become the fourth batsman in the world to wait the longest for his first century after debut in the history of ODI cricket. He had to wait for 4644 days for his first ODI century. In this innings, he faced 131 balls and scored 102 runs, which included 13 fours and 1 six.
Most days waited for a century before ODI debut
- Regis Chakabwa (Zimbabwe): 5040 days (2008–22)
- Sunil Gavaskar (India): 4858 days (1974-87)
- Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka): 4674 days (1982-94)
- Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan): 4644 days (2013-26)*
- Nasser Hussain (England): 4639 days (1989-03)
Second slowest ODI century for Afghanistan
On the Chennai pitch, where Team India’s bowlers were continuously putting pressure, Shahidi batted with great caution. He took 126 balls to complete his century. This is also the second slowest ODI century in Afghanistan’s cricket history. Earlier, Ibrahim Zadran had completed a century in 131 balls against Australia in the year 2023. Even though Shahidi’s innings may have been a bit slow in terms of pace, the way he held his ground against the lethal bowling of Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar played an important role in helping Afghanistan reach a respectable score.
Afghanistan scored 218 runs
The beginning of this match was very bad for Afghanistan. The team had lost 4 wickets for 36 runs only. After this, Hashmatullah Shahidi along with Azmatullah Omarzai took charge of the innings and then took it to 218 runs. During this, Azmatullah Omarzai also contributed 50 runs.
