Fakhar Zaman smashed 210 off 156 balls and became the six batsmen to score double hundred in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) on Friday.
Fakhar Zaman smashed 210 off 156 balls and became the six batsmen to score double hundred in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) on Friday.
It was the second time a player has hit an ODI two hundred against Zimbabwe.
The other double centurions in the 50-over format are Sachin Tendulkar, who was the first man to score a double ton in an ODI (200* vs South Africa in 2010), Virender Sehwag (219 vs West Indies in 2011), Rohit Sharma (209 vs Australia in 2013), Rohit Sharma (264 vs Sri Lanka in 2014), Chris Gayle (215 vs Zimbabwe in 2015) and Martin Guptill (237* vs West Indies in 2015).
Pakistan opening batsman Zaman’s knock, which included 24 fours and five sixes, came against Zimbabwe during the fourth ODI between the two sides at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo.
Fakhar surpassed Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar’s score of 194 off 146 balls, which was previous highest individual score of a Pakistani batsman.
Meanwhile, en route to total of 399 in 50 overs, Pakistan’s opening batsmen Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar also posted 304 runs for the first wicket, which was the highest opening stand in the ODIs.
These two surpassed the previous first-wicket stand of 286 runs, which belonged to Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya.
Meanwhile, Imam and Fakhar bettered Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat’s unbeaten 228-run opening stand, which they had registered in 2011, which was also against Zimbabwe.
When Imam-ul-Haq was the first, and only man out, for 113, snapping the gargantuan opening partnership, Asif Ali arrived at the crease and increased the scoring rate as he mashed 50 from 22 deliveries to propel Pakistan past their previous highest ODI total, 385 against Bangladesh in 2010.
Pakistan already hold a winning 3-0 lead in the five-match series after routing the hosts in each of the first three matches.
After Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and batted, Zaman and ul-Haq quickly vindicating his decision, taking 59 from the opening powerplay. Zaman was first to his 50 in the 18th over, from 51 deliveries, with a fierce drive through extra cover.
He was also first to his hundred, in the 32nd over. It was the third ODI century in his career and his second in this series. Ul-Haq followed six overs later, while the world record for an opening stand fell halfway through the 40th over.
Zimbabwe eventually struck when Ul-Haq top-edged a slog sweep off Wellington Masakadza's left-arm spin to be caught in the deep, but Ali ensured that the runs kept flowing. While Zaman raced to his double century in the 47th over, Ali smashed five fours and three sixes to reach a maiden international fifty from just 22 deliveries.
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