"He shared a lot of his experiences" - Ibrahim Zadran credits chat with Sachin Tendulkar for ton against Australia in 2023 World Cup clash

Afghanistan opening batter Ibrahim Zadran has credited Sachin Tendulkar for a landmark ton in the 2023 World Cup clash against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday. The right-handed batter said that he vowed to bat like the former batting legend.

Zadran created history on Tuesday in Mumbai by becoming the first Afghanistan batter to score a ton in the World Cup. Tendulkar had notably spent some time with the Afghan players on Monday during a training session. He had some fun conversations with them and offered tips on how to beat Australia.

During the mid-innings break, Zadran, who finished unbeaten on 129, thanked Tendulkar for sharing his experiences, which boosted his confidence.

"I had a good chat with Sachin Tendulkar yesterday. He shared a lot of his experiences that I can’t express. I’m very thankful to him for sharing his experiences and giving me a lot of confidence."

The 21-year-old reached the three-figure mark in the 44th over of the innings but took slightly more time than expected to get there. He also accelarated well along with Rashid Khan as his team set a total of 292 for the five-time champions.

"I passed the message on that we need to target 280-285" - Ibrahim Zadran

The youngster also credited Rashid Khan for hitting boundaries at the death and that 280-285 was their target. However, he reckons Afghanistan had the potential to get to 330.

"Against Pakistan, I missed my ton, so I wanted to make it up in this game. I was feeling like I’d get a hundred in the next 3 matches. Wicket is playing well. I passed the message on that we need to target 280-285.

"If we had wickets in hand, then maybe even 300 or 330 would be possible. We lost some wickets in the end, but Rashid came out and played brilliantly. Our aim was to score at least these many runs, and then field and bowl well."

A win for Aghanistan over Australia will keep them in good stead for a semifinal spot. However, they also need to overcome a strong South Africa side in their final league fixture.