If Afghanistan were going to pull off their second unexpected win of the 2023 World Cup, the majority of the burden fell on the shoulders of their two 21-year-old opening batters.

Despite chasing a probably sub-par score, Afghanistan’s notoriously top-heavy batting lineup meant their hopes of a successful chase looked slim. But, when Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz put on a 130-run opening stand, both making half-centuries, the tables quietly began to turn.

Gurbaz was the main aggressor. After reaching his half-century off 38 balls, he skipped down the track to Iftikhar Ahmed a couple of overs later and whacked the ball back over his head for the first six of the innings. As their partnership continued to grow, so did the run rate – up to 6.5 towards the end of the second ten.

But, when Gurbaz was dismissed by Shaheen Shah Afridi from his first ball back into the attack, that run rate began to spiral rapidly. It dropped below six by the end of the 27th over, and after Zadran also fell, it dipped below the required rate. As soon as both openers were back in the hutch, the lack of reserves Afghanistan had below put Pakistan as favourites to win once more.

Afghanistan are no strangers to giving responsibilities to players that far outpace their years. Earlier in the game, 18-year-old Noor Ahmad looked the pick of their bowlers, returning figures of 3-49. He became the second 18-year-old to take a three-wicket haul in a men’s World Cup, the other being Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

But the extent to which they rely on Gurbaz and Zadran to deliver with the bat is perhaps beyond the weight they’ve historically placed on their young spinners’ shoulders.

Zadran and Gurbaz are already Afghanistan’s most successful opening partnership, having scored 1,127 runs together across 22 innings. They average 50.9 together and put together four stands of over 100. No other Afghanistan opening partnership has done so more than once.

While Gurbaz and Zadran have already carved out a path as national greats, this World Cup gives us a rare opportunity to see where they stand overall and how they match up against the best bowling attacks in the world. In Gurbaz’s 27 ODI appearances before the tournament, only the three games he featured in against Pakistan earlier this year were against a side currently ranked in the world’s top seven. Given their roles in Afghanistan’s two wins so far, they are on track to pass the toughest assignment of their careers so far.

A brilliant innings from Ibrahim Zadran has put Afghanistan in a strong position against Pakistan.#CWC2023 #AFGvsPAK pic.twitter.com/2fxFEk3VMf

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) October 23, 2023

However, until yesterday, they’ve struggled to find support from elsewhere in the lineup. Since Zadran made his debut in November 2019, aside from Gurbaz, only Rahmat Shah has made over 1,000 ODI runs for Afghanistan. More tellingly, Zadran and Gurbaz are Afghanistan’s only century-makers in that time with the lone exception of Rahmat, who made only one of his five hundreds over this period.

Whether they fail or not, there usually isn’t anyone to come in beneath and provide support. While Rahmat used to fill that role, before his innings against Pakistan he averaged 24.61 in ODIs in 14 innings this year. If you can get over Hashmatullah Shahidi’s alarming strike rate of 67.27, he has averaged 33.71 at No.4 since the beginning of 2022. Of those who’ve played more than ten innings in that position in the same timeframe, only two from Full-Member nations have worse averages than Shahidi.

Rahmat and Shahidi were the two that, in the end, got Afghanistan over the line in Chennai. But even then, it wasn’t a given until there were only five overs left in the innings. Between overs 36 and 43, only once did they score more than five runs in an over, despite the required rate climbing above six.

A couple of fours clipped behind square broke the shackles before a six banged back over Hassan Ali’s head sealed a momentous win with one over to spare. Zadran was rightfully awarded Player of the Match. He came into this game under some pressure, having not passed 50 in the tournament so far. If their win over England was forged in a rapid powerplay assault from Gurbaz, Zadran was the chief architect of this one, taking his innings as deep as possible into the chase.

If Rahmat and Shahidi can continue to provide a similar kind of support to Zadran and Gurbaz, there’s every possibility that Afghanistan can continue their golden run in the tournament. Their next two matches are against Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, two teams they would’ve fancied their chances against even before felling two trophy-winner contenders. Unlike Afghanistan, who qualified for the World Cup directly, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands had to play in the Qualifiers.

For the first time in their history, Afghanistan have a fresh-faced and hungry opening partnership with the potential to stand up against the best in the game to join their world-beating spinners. If the rest of the side can follow their lead, they have a genuine chance of making the next great jump in their development.

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