Fakhar first Pak batsman to hit ODI double ton

Fakhar Zaman continued his dream run in the ongoing tour of Zimbabwe as he became the first Pakistan batsman to hit a double century in ODIs in the fourth match of the bilateral series in Bulawayo on Friday, reports Hindustan Times.

Fakhar and Imam-ul-Haq blazed away to a record opening stand in ODIs – a partnership of 304 before the dismissal of Imam – as the visitors dominated proceedings at the Queen Sports Club.

Having already pocketed the five-match series, Pakistan showed no signs of slowing down as Zaman and Imam smashed the hosts’ bowlers all over the park and went past the 286-run mark for the opening stand set by Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga against England in 2006.

Pakistan blasted 399/1, their highest in ODIs – beating the previous record of 385/7 against Bangladesh in Dambulla in 2010. While Imam (113) scored his third century in eight ODIs, Zaman, who had hit a match-winning century in the Champions Trophy 2017 final against India, surpassed Saeed Anwar’s previous record for Pakistan of 194.

The southpaw -- who remained unbeaten on 210 -- became the sixth cricketer to smack an ODI double century.

This was also Zaman’s second triple-figure score of the series. In his four innings, Zaman is yet to be dismissed in this series and has already amassed a total of 430 runs.

Earlier, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and decided to bat. The visitors, who took an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the series after bowling Zimbabwe out for 67 on Wednesday, had the opportunity to experiment with their playing XI but opted to go unchanged.

There were two changes for the Zimbabweans, with Chamu Chibhabha and Prince Masvaure coming in for seamer Donald Tiripano and top-order batsman Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, respectively.

The pair surpassed the previous record of 263 runs, set by Aamir Sohail and Inzamam-ul-Haq against New Zealand in 1994.

Pakistan had made 304 in 42 overs before they had a wicket, Imam out to a failed slog on the leg side; Zimbabwe had avoided the ignominy of becoming the first side in history to go wicketless right through an innings. But that brought the explosive Asif Ali to the crease, and he, along with Fakhar batting like a man possessed, pillaged 90 runs off the last eight overs. By this time, Asif had taken over from Fakhar, and found enough time to bludgeon 50 off 22 balls, and helping bring up Pakistan's highest ODI total.

List of players to have hit double hundreds in ODIs

Rohit Sharma (India) 264, 209, 208*

Martin Guptill (New Zealand) 237*

Virender Sehwag (India) 219

Chris Gayle (West Indies) 219

Sachin Tendulkar (India) 200*

Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan) 210*

Fakhar first Pak batsman to hit ODI double ton

Fakhar Zaman continued his dream run in the ongoing tour of Zimbabwe as he became the first Pakistan batsman to hit a double century in ODIs in the fourth match of the bilateral series in Bulawayo on Friday, reports Hindustan Times. Fakhar and Imam-ul-Haq blazed away to a record opening stand in ODIs a partnership of 304 before the dismissal of Imam as the visitors dominated proceedings at the Queen Sports Club. Having already pocketed the five-match series, Pakistan showed no signs of slowing down as Zaman and Imam smashed the hosts bowlers all over the park and went past the 286-run mark for the opening stand set by Sri Lankas Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga against England in 2006. Pakistan blasted 399/1, their highest in ODIs beating the previous record of 385/7 against Bangladesh in Dambulla in 2010. While Imam (113) scored his third century in eight ODIs, Zaman, who had hit a match-winning century in the Champions Trophy 2017 final against India, surpassed Saeed Anwars previous record for Pakistan of 194. The southpaw -- who remained unbeaten on 210 -- became the sixth cricketer to smack an ODI double century. This was also Zamans second triple-figure score of the series. In his four innings, Zaman is yet to be dismissed in this series and has already amassed a total of 430 runs. Earlier, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and decided to bat. The visitors, who took an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the series after bowling Zimbabwe out for 67 on Wednesday, had the opportunity to experiment with their playing XI but opted to go unchanged. There were two changes for the Zimbabweans, with Chamu Chibhabha and Prince Masvaure coming in for seamer Donald Tiripano and top-order batsman Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, respectively. The pair surpassed the previous record of 263 runs, set by Aamir Sohail and Inzamam-ul-Haq against New Zealand in 1994. Pakistan had made 304 in 42 overs before they had a wicket, Imam out to a failed slog on the leg side; Zimbabwe had avoided the ignominy of becoming the first side in history to go wicketless right through an innings. But that brought the explosive Asif Ali to the crease, and he, along with Fakhar batting like a man possessed, pillaged 90 runs off the last eight overs. By this time, Asif had taken over from Fakhar, and found enough time to bludgeon 50 off 22 balls, and helping bring up Pakistans highest ODI total. List of players to have hit double hundreds in ODIs Rohit Sharma (India) 264, 209, 208* Martin Guptill (New Zealand) 237* Virender Sehwag (India) 219 Chris Gayle (West Indies) 219 Sachin Tendulkar (India) 200* Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan) 210*