13 years into his international career, Hashmatullah Shahidi has registered his maiden ODI hundred. The 31-year-old isn’t just Afghanistan’s current ODI captain but also their fourth-highest scorer in the format. Only Rahmat Shah has more half-centuries than Shahidi, 33 to 22, but that hundred eluded him.
Maiden ODI hundred for Hashmatullah Shahidi
An unbeaten 97 against Pakistan in 2018 was the closest he got to a hundred. It took Shahidi 8 years to register his highest-ever ODI score. To get to your hundred as captain against arguably the best ODI team in the world, India, and that too when your team was 36/4 away from home. Nothing can get better than that.
The hundred didn’t come easy either. Apart from losing partners consistently after Azmatullah Omarzai‘s dismissal in the 29th over, Shahidi also battled with cramps in the India vs Afghanistan 3rd ODI. He went down on the ground several times in agony and needed help from the medical team several times.
At one point, it didn’t look certain that Shahidi would reach triple figures. In the 41st over, the case of the nervous nineties took over. The Afghanistan captain had been punished for running in the danger zone, with one run deducted from the visitors’ tally and 5 runs granted to India.
The desperation of registering his maiden ODI hundred led to three runouts. Rashid Khan, Allah Ghazanfar and Fareed Ahmad all ran out in the space of 5 balls. Shahidi was on 91, and only 1 wicket remained. Luckily, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi survived long enough for Shahidi to cut Washington Sundar for a four and reach the milestone.
He holed out after that, with Prasidh Krishna getting a 5-wicket haul. But the job was done. Afghanistan might not win the match, but Shahidi’s carry job took them from 36/4 to 218. It’s all one can ask for from your most experienced batter and captain. To get your maiden ODI hundred in the process is just the cherry on top.
Most days from ODI debut to maiden hundred
- 5040 – Regis Chakabva (2008-22)
- 4858 – Sunil Gavaskar (1974-87)
- 4674 – Arjuna Ranatunga (1982-94)
- 4644 – Hashmatullah Shahidi (2013-26)
- 4639 – Nasser Hussain (1989-03)
