Twitter bows down to Mohammad Shahzad after his century against India

Mohammad Shahzad has been one of Afghanistan’s most prolific run-scorers ever since they started playing international cricket. In the ongoing Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he has got starts but hasn’t been able to convert. Even in the last match against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi, the Nangarhar-born batsman notched a half-century after which he was dismissed.

Nevertheless, in Afghanistan’s last Super 4 match against India at Dubai International Cricket Ground, he decided to buckle down in order to get a substantial score under his belt, however, he didn’t alter his style of play. After Asghar Afghan won the toss and elected to bat first, the 30-year-old looked like a man with a mission and he creamed the bowling without much fuss.

Shahzad muscles his way to fifth ODI ton

India rested three of their mainstream bowlers- Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal- and the swashbuckling batsman took full toll. He didn’t die wondering by any stretch of the imagination to score the runs. The batsman at the other end didn’t look comfortable as Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja picked up a couple of wickets each.

In the meantime, Shahzad accomplished his half-century in merely 37 balls and looked at ease, unlike the other batsman. He entered the 90s with a colossal six off left-arm fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed. Thereafter, he curbed his natural instincts and mostly dealt in singles. When Afghanistan crossed the 100-run mark, Shahzad was the only batsman to reach double figures.

In the first ball of the 28th over, Deepak Chahar slid the ball down the leg-side and Shahzad turned the ball down to fine leg to notch the century from 88 balls. Meanwhile, he also scored Afghanistan’s first century against any top-nine ranked team in the 50-overs format. It also turned out to be his fifth century in One Day Internationals. Following the masterclass from the opening batsman, Twitter heaped praises on him.

Here is how Twitter reacted

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