Twitter Reactions: Fakhar Zaman's double century floors Zimbabwe

Records tumbled at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Friday. Pakistan registered their highest total ever in the ODIs as the country witnessed their first ever double-centurion in the format in Fakhar Zaman. The left-hander was literally brutal in his assault as he showed no mercy to the opposition bowlers. Imam-ul-Haq and Asif Ali also joined in the fun as the Men in Green posted a daunting total of 399 runs. The hosts were never going to get there as they succumbed to another heavy loss.

After opting to bat first, the onus was on Fakhar and Imam to get their team off to a brilliant start and they didn’t disappoint. After getting their eyes in, both of them started opening their arms freely and the bowlers of Zimbabwe helped them by dishing out easy deliveries. The run-scoring was so easy for the duo that the journey towards their respective centuries seemed like nothing. They added a record stand of 304 runs for the first wicket after which Imam was dismissed by Wellington Masakadza for 113.

But Fakhar continued in the same vein and plundered run at will by shuffling around his crease. He reached his maiden double century in the 47th over with a swat over the off-side as the crowd stood up in applause along with his teammates. Asif Ali also played his part by scoring a quickfire half-century off 22 balls as they posted a total of 399.

Tame chase

Zimbabwe were never going to chase such a target but they showed intent and unfortunately, it lasted only for 5 overs. Hamilton Masakadza tried his best by playing some innovative shots but even he couldn’t grind it in the middle. Soon they were reduced to 67/5 courtesy of the ever-threatening pace attack of the Men in Green.

Then came a sensible partnership between Elton Chigumbura and Donald Tiripano. The duo denied Pakistan a wicket for 17 overs and added 69 runs for the sixth wicket. However, things wrapped up quickly once Faheem Ashraf managed to pin the former in front of the stumps. They were eventually bowled out for 155 runs in the 43rd over as Pakistan took the lead of 4-0 in the series.

Here’s how Twitter reacted during the game: