Australia found themselves in all sorts of trouble in their pursuit of 292 at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. Ibrahim Zadran scored Afghanistan’s first World Cup hundred as the tournament’s surprise package team made 291-5.
The 21-year-old opener’s unbeaten score of 129 served as the foundation for Afghanistan’s highest-ever World Cup total, surpassing their previous record of 288 against the West Indies at Headingley in 2019.
Jadeja is being credited as the primary catalyst for Afghanistan’s resurgence in the World Cup as they have toppled defending champions England, former champions Pakistan, and Sri Lanka under his guidance.
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Afghanistan’s head coach Jonathan Trott believes that the appointment of Jadeja as their mentor played a pivotal role in helping them shed the ‘minnows’ label.
“I think Ajay brings a lot of experience having played a lot of cricket in India. He’s always a good sounding board with regards to conditions, venues and also the other subcontinent teams that we’ve played against,” Trott said.
