Watch: Abdullah Shafique celebrates his maiden ODI hundred in Shubman Gill manner
Abdullah Shafique celebrated his maiden ODI hundred in a similar fashion as Indian batter Shubman Gill.
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Match 08 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 took place on Tuesday, October 10 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, where Pakistan faced Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka imposed an enormous target of 345 on the Babar Azam-led side in order to secure victory in the match. After 7.2 overs, Pakistan were in a dire situation at 37/2 when Mohammad Rizwan joined Abdullah Shafique in the middle and the two players proceeded to smash a magnificent century.
The 23-year-old enthusiastically celebrated his first ODI century by descending towards the dressing room, mirroring the gesture of the star batsman of India, Shubamn Gill.
Here you can view his celebration:
Shafique then scored 113 runs off 103 deliveries, during which he smashed ten fours and three sixes. His participation with Mohammad Rizwan in a mammoth 176-run stand off 155 deliveries for the third wicket assisted his team in bouncing back from the initial setbacks.
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It is worth mentioning that Shafique replaced Fakhar Zaman in the playing XI against Sri Lanka during his fifth innings of ODI cricket. Shafique has amassed 193 runs in five innings across five ODIs thus far, averaging 38.60 runs per outing with a fifty-one. In addition, during his brief Test tenure of fourteen matches, the 23-year-old has amassed 1220 runs at an average of 50.83, including four hundreds and four fifties. This is an outstanding record.
Mohammad Rizwan's undefeated 131 brought Pakistan to victory
In the interim, following Shafique's dismissal, Mohammad Rizwan persisted at the crease despite enduring intense cramping as he assisted Pakistan in their pursuit of the highest target ever set in World Cup history. Rizwan's 131* (121) was comprised of three sixes and eight fours, which helped Pakistan chase down 345 in 48.2 overs and secure a six-wicket victory. Rizwan was duly recognized as the match's Player of the Match due to his magnificent century.
Kusal Mendis also made history earlier in the day when, off 65 deliveries, he scored the fastest century by a Sri Lankan batsman in the ODI World Cup. Subsequently, Sadeera Samarawickrama provided solid support with 108 runs off 99 balls as he amassed 122 runs off 77 balls to assist Sri Lanka in reaching 344 runs off the allotted 50 overs.
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