Fakhar Zaman first Pakistan batsman to hit double ton, breaks 21-year-old record

Pic courtesy: Reuters

Fakhar Zaman on Friday became the first Pakistan batsman to score a double century in One Day Internationals. His 156-ball 210* against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo broke the 21-year-old record held by Saeed Anwar’s 194 for the highest ODI score by a Pakistani batsman. Zaman’s double-ton also became the fifth-highest score in an innings. He has now entered a rather elite club of double-centurions - Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma and Martin Guptill.

And the fireworks weren’t just from Zaman’s end of the pitch. He combined with fellow opener Imam-ul-Haq (113 off 112 balls) for a massive opening partnership of 304. This broke the record for the highest opening partnership of 286 by Sri Lanka's Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya in 2006.

WHAT AN INNINGS!@FakharZamanLive hits the first ODI double century for Pakistan! 

He passes Saeed Anwar's previous record for Pakistan of 194!

Take a bow!  #ZIMvPAK pic.twitter.com/iQNbmAGclU — ICC (@ICC) July 20, 2018

The flier from Zaman and Haq helped Pakistan 399/1 in the fourth ODI in the five-match series, their highest ever score in ODI cricket. Their previous best was 385/7 which came against Bangladesh at Dambulla in 2010.

There are more records to talk about. Zaman has scored 980 runs in 17 matches and he will become the fastest to reach 1000 runs if he scores 20 runs in his next three ODIs.  The record (21 matches) is jointly held by Vivian Richards, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Quinton de Kock and Babar Azam.

The 24 fours that Zaman scored on the way to his double-ton were the fourth highest for an innings, behind Rohit Sharma (33), Sachin Tendulkar (25) and Virender Sehwag (25).

Having already won the series with a 3-0 lead, Pakistan eye their fourth win over hosts Zimbabwe.

Brief Score: 

Pakistan 399/1 (50)

Zimbabwe 61-4(15)  

Zimbabwe need 339 runs to win