Daily Times

Pakistan’s record against Australia in all formats is not that sparkling. But what happened at Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe on Sunday was beyond one’s expectations. Pakistan thrashed mighty Aussies by six wickets in a Twenty20I tri-series final to clinch the coveted trophy. With the hosts knocked out and a small crowd watching on, Pakistan won the series with a flawed, yet dogged performance. The man of the hour was none other than opener Fakhar Zaman. The same man who crushed India with his brilliant century in last year’s ICC Champions Trophy final in England. And with yesterday’s knock, Zaman not only enhanced his reputation but also showed that he has big match temperament. He bagged the award for, both, player of the match and the series due to his brilliant batting.

Whether it’s letting the opposition sprint to 95 for 0, or slipping to 2 for 2 at the start of a record chase, Pakistan are the sort of team who get themselves into these situations. But they are also the sort of team that can get themselves out of them. Zaman’s innings against Australia was remarkable considering the early strife Pakistan were in. Zaman, who played one hell of a knock, smashed a career-best 91 off 46 balls as Pakistan successfully chased a formidable target of 184. The opener’s scintillating innings included 12 fours and three sixes, bringing up his half-century in 30 balls. Pakistan, who top the global rankings in Twenty20 cricket, won the game with four balls to spare to secure victory. It is Pakistan’s highest successful run chase in Twenty20 International cricket and their ninth successive series win in the shortest format of the game.

Pakistan’s innings got off to the worst possible start with Glenn Maxwell picking up two wickets in the very first over of the innings. Debutant Sahibzada Farhan and Hussain Talat were not able to trouble the bowlers and went back to the pavilion without even scoring a single run. Then captain Sarfraz Ahmad and Zaman put Pakistan back on track with a brisk 45-run partnership. But just when the Men in Green were looking to establish some sort of control, Sarfraz was run-out after scoring 28 runs. From there on, Zaman, along with experienced Shoaib Malik, put the Australian bowlers to sword. His batting wasn’t entirely risk free, but his aggressive strokes came in a calculated manner. The left-handed batsman was in unstoppable hitting form as he smacked the bowlers to all parts of the ground. En route to his third half-century of the series, Zaman became the highest run scorer in T20Is in a calendar year — with 516 runs in 13 innings — while also securing the record for scoring most runs in a series for Pakistan. Only two players have scored more runs than Zaman in a year, India’s Virat Kohli (641) and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad (520), both in 2010. Pakistan are scheduled to play at least six more T20Is this year and Zaman has the opportunity to create a world record of most runs in a calendar year. To achieve this record, he needs to score at least 126 runs.

Earlier, Australia had set Pakistan a target of 184 runs, after Aaron Finch had won the toss and decided to bat first. Finch and D’Arcy Short provided Australia with an ideal platform with a 95-run opening stand which helped the team post a strong total on the board. Finch muscled his way to 47 runs off just 27 balls –– which included two fours and three maximums. Short struggled to middle the ball in the initial phase of his innings but he made up for it in the latter stages of the innings. He ended up as the highest run scorer in the innings with 76 runs off 53 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes. From 95 for 0 after the first 10 overs, Australia lost 8 for 88 and their 183 for 8 was not quite enough to better Pakistan in the final analysis. For Pakistan, Mohammad Amir picked up three wickets while Shadab Khan claimed two wickets.

Published in Daily Times, July 9^th 2018.