Fakhar Zaman is a true match-winner on his day, there is little doubt about that, not only among the Pakistani cricket fraternity, but also among those who have ever seen him play. He is fearless and blessed with the ability to hit the ball cleanly, but is also prone to fruitless runs just because of the number of risks he takes.
During such spells he looks anything but a top quality batsman. He has trouble knowing where his stump is, his feet rarely move in the shot, and as he tries to clear the fence he often loses form. All these things happened to him during the Asian Cup and the first part of the World Cup (including warm-up matches).
So much so that Pakistan felt them had Dropped Fakhar. Quite a difference point hitter was sent to the bench. Abdullah Shafique was called in his place and shone with a century on his World Cup debut, and it looked like Fakhar, one of Pakistan’s 2017 ICC Champions Trophy heroes, would not get a chance to brew a similar brew.
But as is the case with most competition winners, there is another side to the story. Sometimes they may look very ordinary and their carefree nature can even be mistaken for carelessness.
But once they get going, they win cricket matches, and they win cricket matches that are not meant to be won.
Fakhar against New Zealand in Bengaluru on Saturday was just that. If not anymore.
Fakhar Zaman produced a great display of power-hitting against New Zealand
Pakistan, for context, had to chase 402 to keep their faint hopes of qualification alive. 401, by the way, was the Kiwis’ second-highest ever ODI score, and their highest ever at a men’s World Cup. The field was flat and the boundaries were inviting, but 402, no matter what lens you look at it through, is daunting.
Instead of fighting it, Fakhar saw it as an opportunity. A chance to tell the world how good he is and how destructive he can be. The push and pull of the past few months gave way to a power play that few on the planet, and perhaps only Fakhar, in this Pakistan team, can produce.
The ball flew in all directions, mainly peppering the arc from the long to the deep, square leg. The most surprising aspect was that Fakhar targeted those areas against both pace and spin. He used his huge bat swing to generate power, and his slight movement over his stumps, coupled with the opening of his front leg, gave him space to place the ball in the stands.
This article is obviously not a lesson in power hitting. There are many others who may be better versed in discussing these nuances. But it would be difficult for anyone who watched Fakhar’s strike against the Black Caps not to go crazy and not relive it long after this World Cup is over. It was that is amazing.
And to think that Pakistan didn’t think Fakhar was good enough to start every match for them in this World Cup. Yes, he was in bad form and perhaps needed some time away from the spotlight. However, Pakistan’s campaign has been in jeopardy since their defeat to Australia (in Bengaluru, incidentally), and it was only in the match against Bangladesh that the swashbuckling southpaw was recalled.
At his worst, he might seem like just another hitter. However, at his best, he is everything this Pakistan team needs, especially given the way Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shafique bat, and the number of runs their bowlers leak every match.
Of course, chasing 400 every day is not advisable. But if anyone has the game to put Pakistan in situations where they think realistically about winning such matches, it is Fakhar.
The fact that he averages over 47 in ODI cricket illustrates that he can also be consistent. Not as consistent as perhaps Babar or Virat Kohli, but 47 is a very healthy average. In fact, among those who have scored more than 2,000 ODI runs for Pakistan, his average is the fourth best, and his strike rate the second best, after the erratic Shahid Afridi.
All this just makes Pakistan’s entire decision-making process even more confusing, considering how pear-shaped the middle part of their campaign went. But that post-mortem will have to wait for now.
This is Fakhar’s moment and it has finally happened, even if it seemed unlikely at the start of this World Cup.
What Fakhar made in the aftermath of his historic hundred jokes is also remarkable. Not the part where he said he went home to the drawing board and tried to fix the weaknesses that had crept into his game. Almost all top cricketers do that when they fall off the side or are in bad form.
The revealing thing was that he never rested. He was busy. Always. Not just because his standards had dropped. But because deep down he believed. He believed that he would play a crucial role in this World Cup and that if he was fit and fit, he could propel this Pakistan team to unparalleled heights.
Something similar happened in Bengaluru on Saturday. Chasing 402, in a competition where the highest successful chase was just 345, Fakhar opined. He believed he could take New Zealand apart and that Pakistan could make a good fist of the chase despite the odds being so heavily against them.
Now, because of his heroics, Pakistan is still in contention for the semi-finals. They will probably need a huge favor from Sri Lanka or a crushing win over England. Whatever it is, they’re still in there.
But it is significant, says Pakistan. Just like Fakhar did, and similar to how they both did it in 2017. And we all know how that turned out…