Netherlands vs Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman slams his seventh ODI ton
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman has struck his seventh century in One-Day Internationals. He reached the three-figure mark in the first ODI against the Netherlands at Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam. Fakhar registered his first century in international cricket since April 2021. His ton gave Pakistan a solid start after the visitors elected to bat. Meanwhile, skipper Babar Azam fell 26 runs short of his century.
Fakhar started watchfully, more so after he lost his opening partner Imam-u-Haq in the sixth over. The former then shared a 168-run stand with Babar for the second wicket. Fakhar smashed 109 off as many balls, hammering 12 fours and a solitary six. He had a golden opportunity to go all out, however, an untimely run-out ended his innings.
Fakhar made his ODI debut in the 2017 Champions Trophy against South Africa in Birmingham. In a career spanning over five years, the left-handed batter has slammed 2,599 runs from 60 matches at an average of 46.41. He remains the only Pakistani batter with a double-century in ODI cricket. Fakhar slammed an unbeaten 210 against Zimbabwe in 2018.
Fakhar holds the record to be the fastest to 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. He had reached the landmark in just 18 innings. He is the third-fastest to reach 2,000 ODI runs for Pakistan after Zaheer Abbas and Babar Azam. Fakhar has the highest-ever individual score in the 50-over format by a batsman while chasing a target (193 vs SA, 2021).
Fakhar has slammed the second-highest individual score in a defeat in ODI cricket. The record is held by Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry, who smashed 194* against Bangladesh. Fakhar registered the highest ODI score in South Africa, going past Faf du Plessis' 185 against Sri Lanka.
