Rahmanullah Gurbaz etched his name into the record books with a blistering 48-ball century against India in the first ODI of the series in Dharamsala. The Afghanistan opener reached the three-figure mark in just 48 deliveries, becoming the second-fastest batter to score an ODI century against India. Only former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has reached the landmark quicker, having smashed a century against India in 45 balls at Kanpur in 2005.
Fastest ODI century vs India
| Player | Ball | Year |
| Shahid Afridi | 45 | 2005 |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 48 | 2026 |
| James Faulker | 57 | 2013 |
| AB de Villiers | 57 | 2015 |
| Michael Bracewell | 57 | 2023 |
Gurbaz launched a relentless assault from the outset, taking advantage of the conditions and putting India’s bowlers under sustained pressure. The keeper-batter mixed power with precision, finding boundaries at regular intervals and ensuring Afghanistan maintained a rapid scoring rate throughout his stay at the crease.
Notably, it wasnโt easy for Gurbaz to keep the scoreboard ticking. The visitors lost three early wickets, which put them clearly on the backfoot. However, the 24-year-old didnโt change his gameplan and continued to play an attacking brand of cricket, which helped Afghanistan find a way out of the pressure situation.ย
Meanwhile, the knock also ranks as the fastest century by an Afghanistan batter in ODI cricket and further underlines Gurbaz’s growing reputation as one of the most destructive opening batters in the international game.
Fastest ODI century for Afghanistan:
| Player | Balls taken | Opponent | Year |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 48 | India | 2026 |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 72 | Scotland | 2010 |
| Karim Sadiq | 72 | Netherlands | 2012 |
Wickets fell after Gurbaz departs
After Gurbaz walked back to the pavilion, scoring 102 runs, Afghanistan once again lost wickets like a house of cards. They lost six wickets for 50 runs and that summed up their batting performance on the night.ย For India, debutants Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar starred with the ball, picking up three wickets. Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy returned with two each.ย
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi
India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
Also Read: