Azmatullah Omarzai breaks Pollard's world record, becomes first player in history to register incredible feat

Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai continued to establish himself as one of the world's finest all-rounders as he registered the first T20I century of his career with a world-record batting effort in the first game of a three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe on Thursday (October 29) at the iconic Sharjah Cricket Ground in Sharjah.

Omarzai walked out to bat at number six with Afghanistan in deep trouble at 5-4 but made 116 runs in just 50 balls in a knock that included five boundaries and six sixes while coming at a strike rate of 232. He reached his century in only 44 balls as the Asian team posted 221 on the board.

Azmatullah Omarzai Creates History

Omarzai is the first player in history to score a century from number six or below in a T20I match for a Test-playing nation. The record was previously held by Sam Billings, who made 87 runs for England against the West Indies at Warner Park in Basseterre.

Most Runs From Number Six Or Below in A T20I Innings (Full Member Nations Only)

Player	Runs	Opponent	Venue	Year
Azmatullah Omarzai	116	Zimbabwe	Sharjah	2026
Sam Billings	87	West Indies	Basseterre	2019
Cameron White	85	Sri Lanka	Barbados	2010
David Miller	85	Pakistan	Lahore	2021

Overall, Omarzai is the fifth player to score a century from number six or below in a T20I, but the remaining four efforts have come from players from associate nations.

Kieron Pollard's Record Broken

Omarzai is the first from a full-member nation team to score 10 (or more) sixes in a T20I while batting at number six or lower. This record was previously set by West Indies cricket legend Kieron Pollard and later equalled by South African starlet Tristan Stubbs and Sri Lanka's Dasun Shanaka.

Most Sixes From Number Six Or Below In A T20I Innings (Test Playing Nations Only)

Player	Sixes Hit	Opponent	Venue	Year
Azmatullah Omarzai	12	Zimbabwe	Sharjah	2026
Kieron Pollard	8	New Zealand	Auckland	2020
Tristan Stubbs	8	England	Bristol	2022
Dasun Shanaka	8	Pakistan	Pallekele	2026

Overall, Omarzai's tally of 12 is the joint-second-most from number six (or below) in a T20I alongside Austria's Abidullah Kotwa (vs Hungary in 2026). Only Slovenia's Izaz Ali is ahead with 13 sixes against Serbia at Belgrade last year.

NOTE: Mohammed Nabi hit 89 runs with nine sixes from number seven against Ireland in 2017 at Greater Noida, but that is not counted in the above table as both Afghanistan and Ireland had been allotted Full Member Status by then. They both received the status in 2018.

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