Credit: Twitter
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the opening batter of Afghanistan, smashed 16 runs in one over against Shaheen Afridi of Pakistan, during the second ODI of the three-match series in Hambantota. After losing the first ODI in a horrible manner at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, the captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss to give the responsibility to the Afghan openers to make the play for the national team.
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At the score of 14-0 in four overs, Shaheen Afridi ran into an onslaught from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was looking to break the shackles with the bat. The opener received a short delivery on the first ball of the fifth over, hitting it away with a controlled pull stroke over the deep square leg boundary for a six.
Watch the video of Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashing a six off Shaheen Afridi:
The next ball of the over was a similar delivery to the first one from Shaheen Afridi, which Rahmanullah Gurbaz stroked toward the deep fine-leg region for a four while using the pace. After three consecutive dot balls, he got one more short delivery from the bowler, which was a no-ball, pulling it towards the deep square boundary for a one-bounce four.
The legitimate final ball of the fifth over was a yorker on leg stump, which Rahmanullah Gurbaz dug out for a single, but the umpire gave it a leg bye. This over changed the fortunes of the Afghanistan batting lineup completely, who were blown away for 59 runs in the first ODI under lights.
As of this writing, Afghanistan were 148-0 after 30 overs, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz on 86 not out, partnered with Ibrahim Zadran, who had just completed his fifty.