Fakhar Zaman stands tall

What's the most sixes any Pakistani batsman had scored in an entire World Cup tournament before today?
Nine.

Zaman smashed eleven in one match today! Really, he had little choice when chasing 402. Babar always bats conservatively, Zaman had to go super nova for Pakistan to win.

Fakhar hit more sixes in the one innings today than any Pakistani batter has through an entire World Cup campaign. This one, meanwhile, will blow your mind all over again. Shahid Afridi is Pakistan's most celebrated six-hitter, right? Until today, no Pakistani had hit more sixes in World Cups than him. He hit 12 across five World Cups and 16 years; Fakhar hit 11 today in comfortably under two hours. He hit as many sixes today as Imam-ul-Haq, the man he replaced in the last game, hit in his last 24 ODI innings.

Shahid Afridi hit 12 sixes in 5 global tournaments. Zaman has hit 18 in just two matches in this World Cup. Absurd!

If you tack on the sixes from the Bangladesh game to today's, he's hit nearly a third of the sixes he had hit in his entire ODI career in just the last two innings (18 in the last two and 56 before). In powerplays, he's hit nearly half (six in the last two and 14 before).

Let's hope the rich form continues. Their last group match is against the most humiliated team of the tournament who also happen to be the current World champions. Pakistan do have a certain history of beating New Zealand and England ...

Let's see if it plays out like 1992 or 2019.