Shot of the Day: Fakhar Zaman's humongous 99-metre six leaves Ravi Shastri stunned - PAK vs BAN ODI World Cup 2023
Fakhar Zaman played a brilliant innings of 81 (74) on his return.
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman announced his comeback to the side in emphatic fashion as he smacked Bangladesh bowlers all around the park during Match 31 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Tuesday, October 31 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The southpaw had been left out of the team after the first game against the Netherlands after his string of low scores.
Fakhar began his innings steadily as he scored 3 runs off his first 11 balls. However, he finally broke the shackles with a sensational hit against Taskin Ahmed on the third ball of the fifth over. The opener whacked the delivery towards deep mid-wicket as it travelled a mammoth 99 metres. The shot made a sweet sound as the bat made contact with the ball leaving the commentators stunned.
Watch: Mohammad Rizwan hilariously asks Taskin Ahmed if he edged the ball before reviewing the decision
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 awarded 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 began the year on a positive note as he scored three consecutive hundreds against New Zealand. However, his form dipped massively in the lead-up to the World Cup as he could only manage to score 202 runs in the next 11 innings at an average of 18.36 forcing the management to drop him and bring in Imam ul Haq in his place.
Coming back to the match, Fakhar got involved in a massive 128-run stand for the first wicket off 127 balls with Abdullah Shafique (68 off 69) to get their team off to a perfect start. Following their dismissals, Mohammad Rizwan (26* off 21) and Iftikhar Ahmed (17* off 15) stitched an unbeaten 36-run stand to help their side chase down the target of 205 in 32.3 overs and win by seven wickets.
Also Check: ODI World Cup 2023 Points Table
Download Our App