Ravi Shastri is taken aback by Fakhar Zaman massive 99-metre six. On his comeback, Fakhar Zaman batted brilliantly, scoring 81 (74) runs.
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman made an impressive return to the side. Smacking Bangladesh bowlers all over the park in Match 31 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Tuesday, October 31 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. following a streak of poor scores, the southpaw was pulled out of the team following the opening game against the Netherlands.
Fakhar started his innings slowly, scoring three runs off his first eleven balls. He finally broke free with a spectacular knock against Taskin Ahmed on the third delivery of the fifth over. The opener smashed the delivery to deep mid-wicket, which traveled a whopping 99 meters. The shot created a lovely sound when the bat made contact with the ball, which startled the commentators.
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Watch the shot here:
Fakhar went on to play a magnificent innings of 81 (74) smashing three fours and seven sixes in his innings as he missed out on his 11th ODI ton. He was deservedly award Player of the Match to help Pakistan register their first win after four consecutive losses in the tournament.
Pakistan won the match by seven wickets
The southpaw started the year on a high note, scoring three hundreds in a row against New Zealand. However, his record deteriorated dramatically in the run-up to the World Cup. He only manage to score 202 runs in the following 11 innings at an average of 18.36. Forcing the management to dismiss him and replace him with Imam ul Haq.
Returning to the game, Fakhar and Abdullah Shafique (68 off 69) put on a mammoth 128-run first-wicket stand off 127 balls to get their team off to a flying start. Following their dismissals, Mohammad Rizwan (26* off 21) and Iftikhar Ahmed (17* off 15) put up an unbroken 36-run partnership to assist their team reach 205 in 32.3 overs and win by seven wickets.
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