Afghanistan had lost four wickets for five runs when Azmatullah Omarzai walked out at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday. They finished with 221 for 7, and Omarzai finished with the highest score ever made by a batter coming in at No. 6 or lower in a Twenty20 international between Full Member nations.
He made 116 from 50 balls, with five fours and 12 sixes, at a strike rate of 232.
The previous record from that position was 89, made by the former Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi against Ireland in 2017. Omarzai's innings also went past Sam Billings's 87 against the West Indies in 2019, Cameron White's 85 not out against Sri Lanka in 2010 and David Miller's 85 not out against Pakistan in 2021.
Zimbabwe's bowlers had reduced Afghanistan to 5 for 4 in the second match of the series. Several of the top order went cheaply, and Sediqullah Atal made 17 from 21 deliveries before falling in the ninth over.
Omarzai found a partner in Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, and the pair added 142 runs from 59 balls for the sixth wicket. Ijaz made 52 from 27 deliveries, with five fours and three sixes, and was dismissed with the score on 180.
Omarzai was out in the 19th over. The captain, Rashid Khan, then hit an unbeaten 25 from six balls, including four sixes, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not out on two as Afghanistan closed on 221 for 7, a rate of 11.05 an over.
Rashid reached a milestone of his own during the match, becoming the first bowler to take 200 wickets in Twenty20 internationals.
Zimbabwe fell short of the target despite a century from their captain, Sikandar Raza, his second in the format. Tafadzwa Tsiga supported him on debut. The result extended Afghanistan's run to an eighth consecutive Twenty20 series win over Zimbabwe, who have yet to win one against them.
The record itself deserves a closer look, because of the way it is defined. It goes to the highest score by a batter who comes in at No. 6 or lower. To come in at No. 6 or lower with enough deliveries left to score 116, at least four batters must already be out, and they must have gone cheaply enough to leave the overs behind.
The record, in other words, is not available to a side that is batting well. It is a record for the consequences of a collapse, and it cannot be set by a batter acting alone.
Our analysts note what the five innings on the list have in common. Every one of them was made by a batter who came in at No. 6 or lower. That is the entire qualification, and it is not a qualification anybody can obtain for himself.
The arithmetic is unforgiving. A side that loses no early wickets has nobody at No. 6 with anything to do, and therefore cannot compete for the record at all. Afghanistan's top order, by making five runs between them, supplied the one condition that no amount of preparation can.
This produces an awkward division of credit. Omarzai made the runs. The opportunity to make them was created by Zimbabwe's new-ball bowlers and by four of his own team-mates. None of the three parties can claim the record alone, and only one of them receives it.
The Department of Unnecessary Research has a single request for the game's statisticians. Before the next attempt on 116, somebody should publish the minimum number of wickets a side must lose to be eligible, so that the record can be pursued properly from the first over.