It was a heartbreaking moment for Azmatullah Omarzai as the Afghanistan all-rounder was left stranded on 97 in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture against South Africa
Azmatullah Omarzai played a steadfast innings of 97 as he narrowly missed out on becoming the second World Cup centurion for Afghanistan in the Cricket World Cup match against South Africa in Ahmedabad. Omarzai has been one of the key performers for Afghanistan during the ongoing World Cup 2023, as he has accumulated more than 300 runs from nine matches. (Match Blog |Scorecard | Full Coverage)
Coming into the game against the Proteas, the all-rounder had notched up two fifties, with one coming against India. Omarzai announced himself in the World Cup during their match against India in Delhi. He scored 62 runs, which included a vital 121 run partnership with Afghanistan skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi. It was their first ever for the Afghans against India in ODIs.
In the game against South Africa, the Afghans put themselves into bat after winning the toss. From 41 for one to 45 for three in quick time as Afghanistan lost wickets at regular intervals.
Omarzai however stopped the fall of wickets as he along with Rahmat Shah built a steady partnership. He continued the same when Rashid Khan walked onto the crease. However, after the fall of Rashid, Omarzai joined forces with Noor Ahmad as the pair took Afghanistan past 200-run mark which looked impossible at one time.
Omarzai neared his ton as he smashed Lungi Ngidi for a maximum. Heading into the final over, the Afghan all-rounder need four runs to complete the ton but Kagiso Rabada bowled a dot and the final delivery saw Naveen-ul-Haq get run out as Omarzai was left stranded on 97. Afghanistan camp was in disbelief as their brilliant all-rounder could not cross the 100-mark.