Pakistan, who had won the inaugural game of the three-match ODI rubber, failed to seal the series, as they lost the second game to New Zealand on Wednesday. The Black Caps making a comeback in the second rubber, defeated the Men in Green by 79 runs to level the series 1-1.
In the third and final ODI in Karachi, Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam after winning the toss chose to bat first. But the hosts failed to kick-start the innings well and lost 2 of their wickets with just 21 runs on board.
The Pakistan fans seeing their team struggle, turned a bit conscious until Zaman 101 (122) scored his 8th century in the 50-over format and charged up the stadium.
Zaman’s ton powered Pakistan to a total of 280 for the loss of nine wickets. As soon as the 32-year-old reached the three figures, all fellow teammates in the dugout stood up on their feet to applaud the former. Imam-ul-Haq was seen celebrating with a whistle to cheer up the southpaw opener.
Here’s the video:
The centurion later got run out by substitute fielder Henry Nicholls.
Zaman, the only Pakistan batter to smash a double ton in the ODI format, was picked up in the team after a while by the interim selection committee led by Shahid Afridi. Apart from Zaman, Babar scored a decent 77 off 74 balls, while Agha Salman made 45 (43).
Among New Zealand bowlers, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson picked up 3 and 2 wickets, respectively. Michael Bracewell and Ish Sodhi also scalped one wicket each.
For latest cricket news & updates, visit CricketTimes.com.