Records tumble in Rawalpindi as Kamran Akmal hits 71-ball 150 in T20 Cup — Video

Courtesy: Screengrab (YouTube)

New Delhi: Out of favoured Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal made a mockery of Islamabad bowling attack in National T20 Cup 2017-18 match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Put into bat first, Lahore Whites openers Akmal and Salman Butt toyed with a bowling attack which has the likes of Mohammad Irfan and Umar Gul.

Akmal and Butt stitched an unbeaten stand of 209 runs to break the record of highest opening stand in T20 cricket by two runs.

Watch the match highlight here, courtesy the video uploader:

In August, early this year, Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond compiled the then world-record T20 opening partnership of 207 runs to help Kent beat Essex by 11 runs in their NatWest Blast knockout match at Chelmsford.

However, the record for highest opening partnership in T20 Internationals belongs to Kiwi pairs of Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, who put an unbeaten 171 against Pakistan at Hamilton in 2016.

The 35-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman scored 150 from 71 balls with 14 fours and 12 sixes, while Butt contributed with a patient 55 off 49 balls with the help of eight fours.

Watch Akmal's knock here, courtesy the video uploader:

Akmal recorded the highest individual score, besides also hitting most sixes in an innings, in Pakistan domestic T20 cricket.

He also joined Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza and India’s Virender Sehwag as the batsmen with most T20 consecutive fifties — five each.

Masakadza achieved the feat in 2012 for Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe XI. For Zimbabwe, he scored 53 and 62 against New Zealand, then scored 62 vs Bangladesh XI, 55 vs South Africa XI and 56 vs Bangladesh XI.

Sehwag hit 57, 87 not out, 73, 63 and 73 for Delhi Daredevils in their 2012 Indian Premier League campaign.

On Wednesday, Akmal had become the first Pakistani batsman to score four consecutive T20 fifties, after scoring 63, 65, 52 and 52 runs in four successive games.

Islamabad, in reply, could manage only 100 runs with Asif Ali and Bilal Asif taking three wickets each for Lahore.