In a high-octane encounter at the ICC World Cup 2023, left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman set the cricketing world abuzz as he bagged multiple records with a spectacular century against New Zealand in the 35th match of the tournament.
Fakhar, who had previously played a pivotal 81-run knock against Bangladesh, continued his blazing form with a sensational century in a daunting pursuit of 402 runs against New Zealand.
Despite the early loss of his opening partner, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman displayed unyielding determination and clean hitting to keep Pakistan in contention. In an astounding display of power-hitting, he dispatched the Blackcaps' bowlers to all parts of the ground, reaching his 11th One Day International (ODI) century in just 63 deliveries.
His explosive innings powered Pakistan to a commanding position of 160/1 in 21.3 overs, surpassing the par score calculated under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, just before rain interrupted play.
When the rain-induced stoppage occurred, Fakhar Zaman stood unbeaten at 106 runs from 69 deliveries, embellishing his knock with seven boundaries and a remarkable nine sixes. Notably, his 63-ball century etched his name into the record books as the fastest World Cup century by a Pakistan batter.
However, the record for the swiftest century in World Cup history belongs to Australia's Glenn Maxwell, who achieved the feat in a mere 40 deliveries against the Netherlands during the ongoing mega event.
Fakhar's 63-ball hundred shares the joint-ninth spot on the list of the fastest World Cup centuries, alongside India's captain Rohit Sharma, who also notched a 63-ball century against Afghanistan in the same edition of the World Cup.
Moreover, Fakhar Zaman's ongoing entertaining innings saw him surpass Imran Nazir's record for the most sixes hit by a Pakistan batter in a World Cup inning. Imran Nazir had hammered eight sixes against Zimbabwe during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. Fakhar had come tantalizingly close to breaking this long-standing record in his previous outing for Pakistan, smashing seven sixes against Bangladesh just a few days ago.