Afghanistan reach new heights with Rahmat Shah’s century

Afghanistan 333 for 5 (Rahmat 114, Najibullah 81, Ihsanullah 53) beat Zimbabwe 179 (Mire 34, Rashid 4-26) by 154 runs

(Cricinfo) Continuing their dominance over Zimbabwe, Afghanistan piled up their second-highest ODI total of 333 with Rahmat Shah’s 114 off 110 balls the centerpiece of a resounding victory.

The 24-year old batsman had come in with a sturdy foundation in place but as the score slipped from 90 for 1 to 109 for 3, he felt the need to preserve his wicket and bat long.

Rahmat was 37 from 53 balls at the end of the 30th over but picked up the pace towards the end, smashing half of his 12 boundaries in the last 10 overs.

He was still no match for a red-hot Najibullah Zadran, who launched five sixes and five fours in an innings of 81 at a strike-rate of 158.82.

Only the spinners Graeme Cremer (3-47) and Sikandar Raza (2-58) managed to escape the carnage.