Harare: Left-arm opener Ben Curran etched his name in the history books with an unbeaten century in the second ODI against Bangladesh at the Harare Sports Complex on Thursday.
Curran, who opened the home side’s innings alongside Brian Bennett, returned to top score with an unbeaten 111 off 135 balls with nine fours.
The result saw the 30-year-old become the 10th Zimbabwe opener to bat 50 overs in men’s ODIs, joining the likes of the Flower brothers – Andy and Grant – and Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakatsa.
His opening partner Bennett, who fell for a five-ball duck in the ongoing tournament, achieved the feat when he took the bat against Ireland last year.
Zimbabwe openers for fifty overs in men’s ODIs
- Andy Malar against Sri Lanka – 1992
- Grand Flower v England – 1994
- Neil Johnson v Australia – 1999
- Alastair Campbell vs India – 2000
- Craig Wishart v Namibia – 2003
- Hamilton Masakatsa v Kenya – 2009
- Brendan Taylor vs South Africa – 2010
- Brian Bennett vs Ireland – 2025
- Ben Curran vs Bangladesh – 2026
Curran’s marathon helped the home side amass a mammoth total of 247/6 in 50 overs as they aim to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series, having already won the opener by 25 runs.
The left-handed opener was supported by all-rounder Brad Evans, who scored an unbeaten 58 off 38 balls with 5 sixes and 2 fours, while Sikandar Raza scored a cautious 33 off 53 balls with the help of 4 fours.