Former India opener Virender Sehwag lavished praise on Afghanistan batsman Najibullah Zadran, following the left-hander’s excellent innings of 73 in just 48 deliveries as he fought a lone battle against the Kiwis in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
A regular pundit on Cricbuzz Live, Sehwag said that he was waiting in expectation of such a knock from the Afghan youngster, who had played with him in the T10 League a few years ago. Sehwag also suggested that Zadran could handle pace and spin with equal ease and that it would hardly be a surprise to see him pick up an IPL contract in the upcoming IPL auctions.
“I have played alongside him in T10 League so I was expecting such a knock from him. He is brilliant against both pace and spin and I feel an IPL contract is just around the corner for him,”
said Sehwag after the match between the Afghans and the Black Caps.
Zadran was the lone warrior for the Afghanistan side in the Super 12 encounter against New Zealand, picking apart the Kiwi bowlers at will, which was in stark contrast to his teammates, who all struggled against the Black Caps’ bowling attack. Zadran contributed 73 of the 125 runs that Afghanistan managed to muster in their innings.
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Sehwag also pointed out that it looked as if Najib Zadran was batting on a completely different wicket, given the effortlessness with which he was batting. Zadran struck six boundaries and smoked three sixes in what was a fabulous effort by the young man. This assertion was corroborated by the fact that while he scored 73 runs on a seemingly difficult track to bat on, none of his teammates could even cross the 15-run mark.
Viru also observed the fact that Zadran hardly broke a sweat in dealing with spin-bowling duo Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Ssantner, against whom many teams, including India, have struggled.
Zadran took both Santner and Sodhi to the cleaners, something all other teams have failed to do in the Black Caps’ previous games.
“It looked like he (Najibullah Zadran) was batting on a completely different track compared to other Afghanistan batters. He cashed in brilliantly against the spin duo of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner. Even in Neesham’s first over, he smashed a couple of boundaries”
remarked Sehwag.
Zadran was ultimately dismissed in the 19th over as Jimmy Neesham took a spectacular catch off Trent Boult’s bowling, to bring an end to a fantastic innings, and also to prevent Afghanistan from reaching a bigger total which was always a possibility with Zadran at the crease.
However, Zadran’s fabulous knock proved to be in vain, as New Zealand comfortably chased down the 125-run target, sending both India and Afghanistan crashing out of the tournament.
