Fakhar Zaman creates World Cup record for Pakistan against New Zealand

Pakistani left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman's bat was breathing fire in the 35th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 against New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India, on Saturday as the 33-year-old created a record for the Green Shirts.

Fakhar terrorised the Black Caps' bowlers and scored a 63-ball century with 16 boundaries, seven fours and nine sixes, which is now the fastest century by a Pakistani in the World Cup.

He overtook former Pakistani opener Imran Nazir, who scored a 95-ball hundred against Zimbabwe in the 2007 World Cup.

Pakistan seem to be on the right way as they continue to chase the mammoth 402-run target.

By the time this story was filed, the match was stopped due to rain and Pakistan were 160-1 in 21.3 overs with Fakhar (106*) and Babar Azam (47*) still on the crease.

It must be noted that Pakistan is 10 runs ahead of the DLS score. If the Green Shirts chase this target down, it would be the biggest chase in the history of the World Cup.

Earlier, the Black Caps posted 401-6, the second-highest total of the ongoing competition on the back of Rachin Ravindra (108), Kane Williamson (95) and Glenn Phillips (41).

Mark Chapman (39), Daryl Mitchell (29) and Mitchell Santner (26) made valuable contributions.

Williamson, back in the team after breaking his thumb earlier in the tournament, fell for 95 after sharing a 180-run second-wicket partnership with Ravindra.

Remember, Pakistan won the toss and opted to field. Williamson, who had only recovered from knee surgery just before the tournament, featured in the match against Bangladesh in Chennai on October 13 during which he fractured his thumb and missed the subsequent games.

Teams:

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wkt), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf