Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman ended the drought of half-centuries in ODIs with an 81-run knock in the run chase against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Zaman’s knock helped Pakistan dominate during the fielding restrictions and boost their net run rate (NRR) with a seven-wicket win with plenty of overs to spare. He did not curb his natural instinct to attack and smashed seven sixes to entertain the crowd. However, it was the six he hit off Taskin Ahmed in the fifth over that made everyone’s jaw drop.
Taskin was bowling well with the new ball. He had bowled a maiden over as well. In the fifth over, Taskin bowled a good length delivery on the stumps. Zaman cleared his front leg and hit the ball over deep square leg for a massive 95-metre six. Zaman's go-to attacking shot got a loud cheer from the crowd and acknowledgment from the crowd as well. In the commentary box, Ravi Shastri, Waqar Younis, and Shane Watson were amazed by the shot as their jaws dropped.
Shastri went on to criticise the Pakistan team management as he said, “You cannot drop a player like Fakhar Zaman! He can win you matches on his own and he can demoralize the opposition. He did that to India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.”
Zaman's 74-ball 81 was laced with three fours and seven sixes. He missed his century as he lost his wicket to Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the 28th over of the run chase.
The 33-year-old who replaced an underperforming Imam-ul-Haq in the side was adjudged ‘Player of the match’ for his dominating knock that helped Pakistan climb to the fifth spot on the points table and keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.
“After the Asia Cup, I practiced a lot on my batting, I was looking good at the camp and was looking forward to making it to the team. Today, my hard work paid off after I was given a chance,” the southpaw said in the post-match presentation.
“I had too many failures, I was looking towards such a knock and hopefully I'll make bigger scores in the next few games,” he added.
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