Bangalore: Pakistan secured a victory over New Zealand in an important World Cup match, thanks to Fakhar Zaman’s outstanding batting performance.
According to official sources, in the 35th match of the World Cup, New Zealand had set a formidable target of 402 runs for Pakistan to win. However, due to rain, Pakistan won the match under the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method by 21 runs.
After the interruption caused by rain when New Zealand’s innings were completed, the match had to be stopped twice. Nevertheless, according to the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method, Pakistan was declared the winner by 21 runs.
In a match held in the Indian city of Bangalore earlier, New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson played aggressively, contributing significantly to their team’s total of 401 runs. Pakistan started their innings and had scored 160 runs with the loss of one wicket before the match was halted due to rain. At that time, New Zealand had scored 133 runs for the loss of one wicket in 21 overs, while Pakistan was 10 runs ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis method.
In Pakistan’s innings, the first wicket fell at 11 runs, with Abdullah Shafique contributing only 4 runs before being dismissed. After losing one wicket, Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman stabilized the crisis, with Fakhar Zaman brilliantly handling the Kiwi bowlers. Fakhar Zaman showcased remarkable batting, hitting 9 sixes and 6 boundaries in his 63-ball innings, resulting in his 11th century in ODIs, which is the fastest century by a Pakistani in the World Cup.