ODI World Cup 2023: I said before the match that I would bat like Sachin Tendulkar, says Ibrahim Zadran
Ibrahim Zadran spent the longest time with Sachin Tendulkar on the eve of their World Cup match against Australia, taking batting lessons from the greatest player of all time.
Mumbai: Of all the Afghan players, Ibrahim Zadran spent the longest time with Sachin Tendulkar on the eve of their World Cup match against Australia, taking batting lessons from the all-time greats.
The one-on-one conversation with the master had an effect, as the 21-year-old opener became the first player from Afghanistan to score a hundred in a World Cup match on Tuesday. Needless to say, Zadran thanked the batsman profusely for his valuable tips soon after reaching the milestone.
Thanks to his brilliant knock of 129, Afghanistan posted a challenging 291 for five against an attack comprising Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.
It didn’t matter that he showed up on match night in casual clothes, instead of the training kit.
“I had a good conversation with Sachin Tendulkar. He shared his experience and I said before the match that I would bat like Sachin Tendulkar. He gave me a lot of energy and confidence,” he told the broadcaster after his 143-ball innings.
Zadran’s stroke featured eight fours and three sixes, allowing Afghanistan to post a fighting total.
“I feel great to score Afghanistan’s first hundred in the World Cup. I worked very hard for this tournament.
“I missed a hundred against Pakistan but got it today. “I spoke to my coaching staff and told them that I feel I will get 100 in the next three games,” he added.
On Monday evening, Tendulkar gave him tips on longer batting and exploring more options while playing shots. The legend also told them to score a goal (team goal).
Zadran said the surface here was good for batting and regretted losing wickets in the middle overs, preventing them from reaching the total above 300.
“Wicket is looking good, the ball is coming so well. If we had built a good partnership and kept wickets in hand, we would have scored 330.
“But we lost a few wickets and didn’t get the kind of partnership we were aiming for. But Rashid played well in the end,” he said.
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