Fakhar Zaman's Century, Rain Helps Pakistan Beat New Zealand, Keeps Semi-Final Hopes Alive

At the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, Pakistan maintained their hopes of making it to the semi-finals with a crucial 21-run victory (via DLS method) over New Zealand. Fakhar Zaman struck an incredible century, and the weather gods also smiled on the "unpredictable" Pakistan.

When the skies cleared for the second time, Fakhar (126 not out off 81 balls) and captain Babar Azam (66 not out off 63 balls) guided Pakistan to 200/1 in 25.3 overs, which put an end to the match.

Pakistan was then leading a formidable chase of 402, which was later revised to 342 in 41 overs, by 21 runs over the DLS score. However, the rain prevented Pakistan from surpassing New Zealand's net run rate during the chase, even though they could have scored more quickly. With one game remaining, both teams are on eight points.

After riding to a massive 401/6 thanks to comeback man Kane Williamson's 79-ball 95 and Rachin Ravindra's 94-ball 108, his third century in his debut World Cup, New Zealand will be devastated.

After a week off, Pakistan will play their final league game at the Eden Gardens on November 11 against a struggling England team. Two days earlier, in Bangalore, New Zealand will play their final league match against Sri Lanka, so they will know exactly what they need to do to advance to the semifinals.

As soon as New Zealand took the bat and gave Pakistan a challenging target of 402, it became an uphill battle for them. Even though the other opener, Abdullah Shafique, was out early, Pakistan still managed to win thanks to the strength of the returning Fakhar, who completely despised the bowlers from New Zealand and skipped over them with captain Babar.

The left-handed Fakhar had been sidelined for a significant portion of the competition due to injury, but he struck at the perfect moment to keep Pakistan in contention for the round of sixteen. Fakhar never allowed the Black Caps bowlers any breathing room, and he produced his century off just 63 balls.

The arc between mid-wicket and long-on was his favorite scoring area, and the bowlers from New Zealand continued to feed him to his advantage. Babar, on the other hand, was a much more subdued presence, but he didn't need to try anything spectacular because Fakhar was in his element.

When we first took to the bat, we had confidence in ourselves. We conveyed the message that we require one strong partnership inside the dressing room.

Though we knew it would rain, we didn't anticipate it to be this much. Honestly, our goal was simply to establish a collaboration," Babar stated during the post-game ceremony.

Pakistan's best option going forward, according to Man of the Match Fakhar, appears to be to play with aggression. "We intended to finish the first several overs.

"I had a few lucky breaks, but overall, I had a great time in this inning. Every game is a do-or-die situation for us, as we are aware. We've made the decision to play aggressively, and that will be our strategy," Fakhar emphasized.

stating that he was "praying so that there was no resumption" with his teammates.

from play.

"I will always remember my 193 against South Africa (in Johannesburg in April 2021), but this is one of my best," Fakhar remarked in reference to this pivotal knock.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.