Records shattered as Pakistan piled more misery on beleaguered Zimbabwe in the fourth game of the five-match series. Fakhar Zaman became the first Pakistani to score an ODI double hundred as he and Imam-ul-Haq set the tone for the team’s highest-ever total in ODIs – 399 for 1.
On a tour where not much has gone wrong for Pakistan, the latest performance is just the icing on the cake for them. It seemed next to impossible that more humiliation was in store for Zimbabwe after they were bowled out for just 67 in the third ODI and Pakistan chased it down inside 10 overs. But Pakistan had something else in mind as they were not willing to relax.
With the series already in pocket, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed decided to bat first. And by the time the innings ended, the Zimbabwe bowlers were looking aghast while the statisticians were just catching some breath. Zaman blew away the hosts, hammering a brutal 210 off just 156 balls. Along with Imam, who scored 113, Zaman shattered a plethora of records.
The openers compiled their third hundred partnership in four games while the hosts rarely looked threatening. Throughout the innings, the Zimbabwe bowlers including Blessing Muzarabani, the most stand-out bowler for them in the last two series, were all over. As a result, Zaman and Imam ended up toying with them.
Zaman reached his third ODI hundred in the 31st over when he dispatched Wellington Masakadza for a boundary. A couples of ball later, he hit the same bowler for a huge six and took off from thereon. It was an one-way traffic from thereon as Zaman did whatever he felt like. With every passing ball, it became more obvious that Saeed Anwar’s 24-year old record of highest individual score for Pakistan – 194 – was in danger. And Zaman made sure to make the most of the opportunity, shattering Anwar’s record to enter the record books.
Few ball after going past Anwar’s record, Zaman became the eighth man to reach 200, getting there off just 147 balls.
On the other hand, Imam was silently going about his business. He brought up his third century in just his eighth ODI. The left-handed batsman also became a part of the history as he and Zaman shattered the record of highest-ever opening partnership in ODIs. They added 304 runs to go past Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga to storm into the record books.
Imam’s dismissal, meanwhile, did not bring any respite for the hosts. Hard-hitting Asif Ali piled more misery on them by hammering 50 off just balls as Pakistan collected 90 runs off the last eight overs. In the end, Pakistan piled up a massive 399 for 1.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 399/1 in 50 overs (Fakhar Zaman 210*, Imam-ul-Haq 113; Wellington Masakadza 1-78)