Pakistan kept their World Cup 2023 semi-final hopes alive with a 21-run victory (DLS method) over New Zealand at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Saturday (November 4).
Asked to bat first, the Kiwis racked up a mammoth 401/6 on the board, courtesy of Rachin Ravindra’s hundred (108 off 94) and captain Kane Williamson’s 79-ball 95.
Amid the carnage, Mohammad Wasim Jr returned with decent figures of 3/60 in his allotted 10 overs for Pakistan.
In reply, the Men in Green lost Abdullah Shafique (4) cheaply. However, Fakhar Zaman launched a brutal assault on the New Zealand bowlers right from the word go.
The southpaw completed his half-century in 38 balls and then accelerated the run-scoring even further. As a result, he reached the three-figure mark in 63 balls – the fastest by a Pakistani batter in World Cup history.
Skipper Babar Azam played the role of second fiddle to perfection when Fakhar was taking on the BlackCaps bowlers. Pakistan were cruising in the chase at 160/1 after 21.3 overs when rain arrived and halted the game for nearly one hour.
After the rain interruption, Pakistan were set a revised target of 342 in 41 overs. Fakhar continued his carnage following the break while Babar also put a pedal on the accelerator to complete his fifty in 52 balls.
Pakistan were 200/1 after 25.3 overs when the drizzle started again, forcing the cricketers to leave the playing arena. This time around, the rain was heavier and the game was eventually called off, with Fakhar (126* off 81) and Babar (66* off 63) remaining unbeaten.
Since Pakistan were 21 runs ahead of the DLS par score, they were declared winners in what was a virtual knock-out match for them.
For his breathtaking century under immense pressure, Fakhar Zaman received rich praise from the cricket fraternity on social media platform X.
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