Ibrahim Zadran Century AFG vs Eng: 23-year-old opener becomes the first Afghan batter to score a ton in Champions Trophy

Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran scored a stunning century against England in Champions Trophy 2025 on Wednesday at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. He now holds the record of becoming the first batter from his country to score a Champions Trophy ton.

He is batting on 100 off just 106 balls, even as he lost three partners within the powerplay. Jofra Archer was breathing fire as he reduced Afghanistan to 37/3 in nine overs. However, Zadran, along with captain Hasmatullah Shahidi, who score 40 runs, stabled the innings with a 103-runs stand in the middle overs. Zadran's knock includes six fours and three sixes. Afghanistan are at 190/4 in 37 over and will be aiming to finish with a flourish with batters like Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan still to come.

Ibrahim Zadran has been brilliant for Afghanistan and has scored seven half centuries, while this is his sixth century. The 23-year-old has an average of 50 in just 35 ODIs that he has played so far. He has scored over 1,500 runs and has a strike rate of 80. He has a highest score of 162 and is the fastest Afghan batter to score 1,000 ODI runs.

Injury comeback

Ibrahim Zadran suffered an ankle injury in September last year for which he had to undergo a surgery. In a post on his social media handle, Zadran shared a few pictures and videos where he was seen walking on crutches while trying to recover from injury.

The top order batter, who has also played scored a century in Test cricket, missed the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida, after which he also could not be available for the ODI series against South Africa, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in Sharjah and Harare.

He has made a superb comeback into the team and has stamped authority over the opener's spot along with wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz.