New Delhi: Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi finally got his long-awaited first ODI hundred, making 102 against India in the third and final ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.The century was notable for Shahidi not only because it was his ODI ton, but also because of the long wait. After making his ODI debut in 2013, Shahidi took 4644 days to score 100 in his form – the fourth-longest difference between an ODI player and a previous century in men’s cricket.Only Zimbabwe’s Regis Chakabva (5,040 days), India’s Sunil Gavaskar (4,858 days) and Sri Lanka’s Arjuna Ranatunga (4,674 days) waited longer for their first ODI hundred.
Most days from ODI start to ODI age
- 5,040 – Regis Chakabva (2008-2022)
- 4,858 – Sunil Gavaskar (1974-1987)
- 4,674 – Arjuna Ranatunga (1982-1994)
- 4,644 – Hashmatullah Shahidi (2013-2026)
- 4,639 – Nasser Hussein (1989-2003)
Shahidi’s unique achievement came at a time when Afghanistan was in dire straits. After electing to bat first, the visitors slumped to 36/4 inside the first 10 overs as Prasidh Krishna took the leap.Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah and Darwish Rasooli all fell short, while Prasidh finished the innings with excellent figures of 5/23.With wickets all around him, Shahidi led the recovery. The left-hander played a patient innings, finding opportunities at regular intervals and making sure Afghanistan did not collapse.They added 105 runs for the fifth wicket with Azmatullah Omarzai, who made a quick 50 off 56 balls.Shahidi reached his fifty from 64 balls before continuing to score in the innings. Despite suffering from cramping at the end of his knock, he continued to build on his ODI record of 128 years.The event came fittingly with Washington Sundar’s boundary. Shahidi eventually finished with 102 from 131 balls, an innings that included 13 fours and a six.He later shared another crucial stand of 57 runs with veteran Mohammad Nabi as Afghanistan crossed the 200-run mark.After Nabi’s departure, wickets fell quickly at the other end, but Shahidi battled through pain and fatigue to ensure Afghanistan posted a respectable 218.