LAHORE: Pakistani skipper Babar Azam and opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq’s tons led the Green Shirts to earn the record for the highest successful chase in one-day internationals (ODIs) of 349 against Australia.
Pakistan won the second ODI against Australis by six wickets by chasing the massive target of 349 runs following the collective brilliant performance of Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah.
For the 349-run chase, Imam and Fakhar gave a handsome opening stand to their team which was later taken forward by the Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan duo before handing over the responsibility to finishers Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed.
Imam-ul-Haq scored 106 off 97 while Babar Azam made 114 runs off 83 balls.
Except for Rizwan’s 88.46%, all five batsmen played with over 100 per cent strike rate in the match.
Adam Zampa 2, Marcus Stoinis 1 and Nathan Ellis 1 managed to dismiss Pakistani batsmen but failed to bow down the aggressive scorers in the 2nd ODI.
Babar Azam set the record of becoming the first Pakistani skipper to score an ODI ton against Australi, whereas, he also became the quickest batsman in the world to reach his 15th ODI hundred after playing 83 innings.
From the Australian side, Ben McDermott 104 off 108, Travis Head 89, Marnus Labuschagne 59, Marcus Stoinis 49 and Sean Abbott 28 off 16 gave their side to set a mammoth total of 348 runs at the loss of eight wickets.
Pakistan need 7 ODI wins for World Cup 2023
Pakistan will need to win at least seven one day international (ODI) matches to directly qualify for the 13th edition of ICC’s World Cup 2023.
After winning the 2nd ODI against Australia yesterday, Green Shirts will have to win six ODIs for achieving the target.
Pakistan is currently holding 11th position on the ranking table of the World Cup Super League. The team will have to play 14 more ODIs before the cutoff date and need to win at least seven ODIs to enter the tournament without playing qualifiers.
The top 10 positions are occupied by Bangladesh, England, India, Australia, Afghanistan, Ireland, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand.
The upcoming World Cup will be hosted by India in October and November 2023.