Fakhar Zaman hit an extraordinary hundred and the weather gods too smiled on ‘unpredictable’ Pakistan as they kept their semi-final hopes alive with a crucial 21-run win (via DLS method) over New Zealand at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Fakhar (126 not out off 81 balls) and skipper Babar Azam (66 not out off 63 balls) helped Pakistan to 200/1 in 25.3 overs when the skies opened up for the second time to eventually end the proceedings.
At that point, Pakistan were 21 runs ahead of the DLS score in a daunting chase of 402, which was revised to 342 in 41 overs. But the rains meant Pakistan, who could have further accelerated their scoring in the chase, couldn’t go past New Zealand’s net run rate. Both teams are on eight points with a game to play.
New Zealand will feel gutted after making a mammoth 401/6, riding on Rachin Ravindra’s 94-ball 108 — his third century in his debut World Cup — and comeback man Kane Williamson’s 79-ball 95.
Pakistan now have a week’s break and will take on struggling England in their last league match, at the Eden Gardens on November 11. They will know exactly what they have to do to make the semis as New Zealand will face Sri Lanka in their final league game, in Bangalore, two days earlier.
It was an uphill task for Pakistan once New Zealand, put into bat, set them a daunting target of 402. But thanks to the power of the back-in-form Fakhar, who carted the New Zealand bowlers around the park with utter disdain, and with captain Babar ensuring he didn’t play any silly stroke, Pakistan marched along even after losing the other opener Abdullah Shafique early.
The left-handed Fakhar had missed a large part of the tournament with an injury, but he produced a freak innings at the most opportune time to keep Pakistan in the race for the last-four stage. Fakhar conjured his hundred off just 63 balls as he never gave breathing space to the Black Caps bowlers.
His preferred scoring area was the arc between mid-wicket and long-on, and the New Zealand bowlers kept on feeding to his strength. At the other end, Babar was a comparatively quieter presence, but with Fakhar in full flow, he did not have to attempt anything flashy.
“When we started batting, we believed in ourselves. Inside the dressing room, we passed on the message that we need one good partnership.
“At the back of our minds, we knew rain was coming, but didn’t expect it to be so much. To be honest, we just planned to build a partnership,” Babar said at the post-match presentation.
Playing aggressively seems to be the way forward now for Pakistan, as Man of the Match Fakhar said. “We planned to see off the first few overs.
“A few times, I got lucky, but I really enjoyed this innings. We know that every game is a do-or-die one for us. We’ve decided to play with an aggressive mindset and that’s going to be our approach,” Fakhar stressed,
adding that he and his teammates were “praying so that there was no resumption”
of play.
Talking about this crucial knock, Fakhar said: “I will always remember my 193 against South Africa (in Johannesburg in April 2021), but this is one of my best.”
