AFP, Harare :
Pakistan’s opener Fakhar Zaman blazed his way to a career-best 73 to help his side race to 194 for 7 against Australia in the Twenty20 tri-series in Zimbabwe.
Zaman’s knock, along with contributions from the middle order, helped
Pakistan reach their highest total of the tournament in a match which is effectively a dress rehearsal for Sunday’s final.
Haris Sohail had chipped the very first ball he faced tamely to D’Arcy
Short at midwicket to depart for a golden duck, but Zaman and Hussain Talat steadily wrested control back in the course of a rapid 72-run stand.
Talat cracked three fours and a six before being bowled by Glenn Maxwell’s offspin, but Zaman continued to middle his aggressive strokes.
Zaman surged to a 33-ball 50, his third for Pakistan in this format, with
a slog sweep for six, while another big hit off Andrew Tye’s seamers took him past his previous best of 61.
A four took Pakistan beyond 130, and Zaman into the 70s, in the 15th over, but the next ball he faced was pulled straight to Maxwell on the edge of the circle at midwicket.
The quick dismissal of captain Sarfraz Ahmed, edging a Tye legcutter into the hands of wicketkeeper Alex Carey, put a further dent in Pakistan’s
batting, but the experienced Shoaib Malik ensured the runs kept flowing.
