Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq script history for Pakistan

History Ingrained

Pakistan’s imperious show against the African side Zimbabwe continued generously in the fourth ODI as well. After taking a decisive lead in the third one-dayer now it was time to shatter some records in the 50 over format, one of them was the record of the highest opening stand in One Day international.

In the fourth ODI on a bright sunny day at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and didn’t hesitate to bat first on a belter of a track. The track didn’t had anything to offer for the bowlers and the Pakistani openers made merry of the sublime conditions.

Imam ul Haq and Fakhar Zaman who have opened for the last three matches as well walked out into the middle and set their tone right from the word go. The left-right duo made sure they were timing the ball well and in the process, they etched their name in the history books when they completed the 287th run of the innings.

They broke the record of the highest ever opening stand in One-day Internationals eclipsing the record set by Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya back in 2006 at Headingley in Leeds against England.

The 304 runs stand broke when Imam-ul-Haq tried to slog Wellington Masakadza at deep mid wicket but was unable to clear the fence as Musakanda was at the boundary line to grab it. Imam was dismissed for a well made 113 off 122 balls which was also his second century of the series. The partnership was also the first ever triple century stand for Pakistan for any wicket and the fourth highest for any wicket in ODI history.

Meanwhile, his opening partner Fakhar Zaman had some other plans and he was in no mood to give away his wicket even after getting his third ODI ton. He was in a mood to inflict even more pain and was eyeing something big and in the process, he became the first ever Pakistani batsman to score a double hundred in One-day International cricket. He scored a blistering unbeaten 210 off 156 deliveries which included 24 fours and 5 mammoth sixes.

The Twitterati’s floundered their wishes for a breathtaking knock, here are some of them;

Congrats to @FakharZamanLive on scoring a double 100 and being the 1st Pakistani to score 200 in an ODI??Wishing u more strength n success, keep those runs flowing and making Pakistan proud. #pakvszim

— Umar Gul (@mdk_gul) July 20, 2018

This quality will only damage the international cricket . Huge Question Mark on the Status of Zimbabwe with all their internal problems . Like this there is no use either for Zimbabwe or opposition teams @ICC #PakvsZim

— Muhammad Wasim (@MuhammadWasim77) July 18, 2018

Congratulations Fakhar Zaman for being the 1st Pakistani player to score double centuries in ODI. Also, breaking an older record of Saeed Anwar, a Left handed legend Well played…. ???#PakvsZim #FakharZaman pic.twitter.com/aBKvZmCrzr

— Nasreen (@Nas_k27) July 20, 2018