Midway through the match, it seemed that it was only a matter of time before Pakistan’s farewell bell rang. It will not be or why! New Zealand threw a very tough challenge in front of them to chase the mountain target of 402 runs.
But the team did not panic. Opener Fakhar Zaman played a memorable innings with a devastating batting century. Captain Babar Azam gave him worthy support. After that, the rain also gave a helping hand with two rounds of attacks. The Paks won against the Kiwis.
Pakistan won the rain-hit match in Ahmedabad by 21 runs on DLS method on Saturday. After losing the toss and batting first, New Zealand scored 401 runs for 6 wickets in the allotted 50 overs. In reply, Pakistan scored 200 runs for 1 wicket in 25.3 overs and the game was stopped due to rain.
The match ended at 7:25 PM and Pakistan was declared the winner. According to the DLS system, the par score was 179 runs in 25.3 overs. Pakistan, who scored 200 runs, had the last laugh as they were leading by 21 runs.
With this victory, Babar’s hope of playing in the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup remained alive. With 8 points from their fourth win in eight matches, they moved up to fifth place in the points table. New Zealand are just above them in terms of net run rate with equal points in equal matches. However, this is the fourth consecutive loss for the fourth-ranked team. Afghanistan also has 8 points which has dropped to six. However, they have played one less match.
There are no less examples of Pakistan collapsing under pressure. On this day too, such a glimpse was found at the beginning of their batting. Abdullah Shafiq departed after being a victim of Team Southee in the second over. Kane Williamson took a wonderful catch running backwards.
After that, Pakistan did not give New Zealand a chance to enjoy any more moments of joy. More specifically, Fakhar did not. He kept hitting balls out of bounds one after another. He felt more comfortable than four! After hitting a 39-ball fifty, the left-handed batsman reached his century off 63 balls. The 20 overs of the innings were not yet completed.
Fakhar set the record for fastest century for Pakistan in ODI World Cup. On the other hand, Babar showed firmness. As his partner was in a murderous mood, he did not take any extra risk. However, Babar kept the wheels of the run moving in accordance with the demand. One of the best batsmen of all time keeps hitting boundaries regularly.
Fakhar remained unbeaten on 126 runs before the match ended due to rain. He hit 8 fours and 11 sixes in an explosive innings of 81 balls. No one else could hit so many sixes for Pakistan in one innings on the world stage. This is also a record. Babar scored an unbeaten 66 off 63 balls with the help of 6 fours and 2 fours. Their unbroken second wicket came in a partnership of 194 off 141 balls.
Sometimes it rained. At that time Pakistan’s collection was 160 runs for 1 wicket in 21.3 overs. After that, when the game was started by making the field suitable, their new target was 342 runs in 42 overs. But after only 4 overs, the match ended in another round of rain.
