Fakhar Zaman is an aggressive left-handed batsman with a reputation for going ballistic during the early phases of the game. The southpaw typically dominates the new ball with his ability to drive flawlessly, making him one of the most destructive top-order batsmen in the present era. This has led to plenty of gorgeous Fakhar Zaman centuries, which we'll be exploring in detail today.
Hailing from the same region in Pakistan as batting legends like Younis Khan and Salman Butt, Zaman is a left-hand opener with an expansive high back lift. His emphasis on timing to score most of his runs, combined with the occasional aerial hit down the ground, has seen Zaman actively contribute in Pakistan’s domestic circuit for a number of years.
Zaman first gained significant recognition during the 2016-17 Quaid-e-Azam trophy, showcasing his exceptional batting skills by accumulating a total of 663 runs with an impressive average of 51. This outstanding performance led to his selection for the national team, earning him his debut cap against West Indies. The top order batsman did not make a promising debut in international cricket scoring only 26 runs in three T20Is. However, he made a lot of heads turn during his ODI debut a couple of months later in the 2017 Champions Trophy.
After being bamboozled by India in the first match, Zaman bolstered Pakistan's fragile batting lineup with quickfire scores of 31, 50, 57, and 114 in his first four matches. He scored most of his runs in an aggressive manner well above a strike rate of 110. But his true moment came when he turned out to be an overnight sensation after his brutal maiden ton in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy Final which stunned the arch-rivals India by a whopping 180 runs.
Fast forward to today, Fakhar is an integral component of Pakistan’s batting lineup in the ongoing edition of the 2023 World Cup. On that note, let us delve deeper into all the Fakhar Zaman centuries in international cricket and unravel his journey to the top.
Read also: Babar Azam centuries in international cricket
Contents
Fakhar Zaman centuries: Career summary
Fakhar Zaman is a capable three-format batter who has made 160 international appearances for Pakistan in all formats. The Mardan-born top-order batsman has played three Tests, 81 ODIs, and 76 T20Is. In his160-match-long international career, Fakhar has been able to accumulate 11 international centuries, all of which came in the ODI format. The 33-year-old is yet to register a ton in test and T20I.
| Format | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s |
| Tests | 3 | 6 | 192 | 94 | 32 | 53.48 | 0 | 2 |
| ODIs | 81 | 80 | 3491 | 210* | 47.17 | 93.64 | 11 | 16 |
| T20Is | 76 | 69 | 1433 | 91 | 21.71 | 128.17 | 0 | 8 |
Fakhar has only played three Tests, scoring 192 runs at a modest average of 32 with two half-centuries and a top score of 94. Furthermore, he has appeared in 81 ODI matches where he scored 3491 runs at a remarkable average of 47.17. While in T20Is, Zaman has scored 1433 runs at an average of 21.7, which includes his career-best score of 91 against Australia to help Pakistan secure the tri-series title in Harare back in 2018.
Currently, the batsman holds 5116 runs across all three formats. Now that we have looked at Fakhar Zaman’s overall cricketing career, here is a brief rundown of some of the Fakhar Zaman centuries that make him a national treasure in Pakistan.
Fakhar Zaman centuries: ODI, T20I and Tests
Fakhar Zaman is a volatile opener who can change the game in a span of a few overs. He has had the most amount of success in white-ball cricket primarily in ODI where he scored all his centuries. Here is a comprehensive look at the top Fakhar Zaman centuries encompassing all three formats.
Fakhar Zaman ODI centuries
The 33-year-old has been one of Pakistan’s frontline run-scorer in 50-overs cricket. In 81 ODI matches, Fakhar has notched up 11 centuries averaging 47.17 while maintaining a healthy strike rate of nearly 94. In addition, he has also scored 16 half-centuries. Most of his ODI centuries came against New Zealand (four), South Africa (two), and Zimbabwe (two).
The best ODI century topping the list of Fakhar Zaman centuries is his breathtaking knock of 114 against India which helped Pakistan defeat the tournament favourites in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. At that time, Pakistan’s ODI success had dipped to an all-time low and the openers were seriously out of form. But Fakhar produced a magical innings during the high-octane final match by dominating the likes of Bumrah, Hardik, and Ashwin. They won that game by a massive margin of 180 runs making it one of the most historic wins by Pakistan in international cricket.
| Runs | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
| 138 | Vs England | Southampton | 11 May 2019 |
| 114 | Vs India | The Oval | 18 Jun 2017 |
| 109 | Vs Netherlands | Rotterdam | 16 Aug 2022 |
| 101 | Vs New Zealand | Karachi | 13 Jan 2023 |
| 117 | Vs New Zealand | Rawalpindi | 27 Apr 2023 |
| 180* | Vs New Zealand | Rawalpindi | 29 Apr 2023 |
| 193 | Vs South Africa | Johannesburg | 4 Apr 2021 |
| 101 | Vs South Africa | Centurion | 7 Apr 2021 |
| 117* | Vs Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 16 Jul 2018 |
| 210* | Vs Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 20 Jul 2018 |
| 126* | Vs New Zealand | Chinnaswamy | 4 Nov 2023 |
His second-best ODI innings was against Zimbabwe in the 4th ODI match of a five-match ODI series in 2018. During this match, Fakhar went on to script history becoming the only Pakistani batter to smash a double ton in ODI cricket. He scored an unbeaten 210 (156) and registered a brutal first-wicket partnership of 304 runs with Imam Ul Haq to help Pakistan set a near-impossible target of 400 runs. Subsequently, Zimbabwe were bowled out cheaply for 144 inside 43 overs.
However, in recent times, Fakhar played a magnificent innings against the Black Caps in April this year. The opener sprung back to form leading up to the World Cup by scoring a valiant 180* (144) helping Pakistan chase down a stiff target of 337 with relative ease. He along with Azam and Rizwan showed a great temperament against a versatile Kiwi bowling lineup and chased down the colossal total with 10 balls to spare.
His best knock arguably was in the World Cup against New Zealand in 2023, where he made 126* against New Zealand, helping Pakistan to a memorable win. Set a target of 402, Pakistan started recovered after the loss of Abdullah Shafique’s wicket, with Zaman leading the way. Pakistan ended up winning the game courtesy of the DLS, and were 20 runs ahead of the par score.
Fakhar Zaman T20I centuries
Fakhar has featured in 76 T20I matches for Pakistan and is yet to register a century. However, he loves playing an attacking brand of cricket in this format and bats with a formidable strike rate of just a shade under 130. He has so far made eight half-century scores so far in this format.
There may not be any tall scores under Fakhar Zaman centuries in T20I cricket, the 33-year-old is a clean basher of the cricket ball and has played a myriad of match-winning cameos for his national side. His most famous knock came against Australia in the tri-series final in Harare where his swashbuckling cameo of 91 (46) helped Pakistan chase down a tricky target of 188 inside 20 overs. His match-winning knock was absolutely pivotal in helping Pakistan clinch the tri-series title.
Three years later in South Africa, Fakhar played a well-constructed innings of 60 (34) on a tricky batting surface. Despite being jolted by a regular fall of wickets, Fakhar maintained his composure and played right through to the end of the innings to take Pakistan over the finishing line in a low-scoring thriller. Following that victory, Pakistan were able to claim the series by a margin of 3-1.
Perfect example of
— ᵂᵃˢᵉᵉᵐ ᴿᵃʰⁱᵐᵒᵒⁿ 🇵🇰 (@WaseemRahim00n) October 7, 2023
"Failure is orphan, but success has many fathers."
It will take you 37 sec to watch this clip to realize the importance of Fakhar.
No one is supporting Fakhar zaman through his bad patch except Babar Azam. @FakharZamanLive #ThisTooShallPassStayStrong pic.twitter.com/dNLmGvOfNp
Fakhar Zaman Test centuries
Fakhar has only appeared in three Test matches for Pakistan. He played two of them against South Africa where he struggled massively and averaged just eight with a top score of 12. His third test against Australia was at home, where he fared comparatively better and averaged 80 with the best score of 94. The Fakhar Zaman century record in Test cricket is likely to improve further once he gets more games under his belt, with a lot of unfulfilled potential yet to materialise for him. Fakhar has scored 192 runs and two half-centuries in this format.
His solitary innings of substance came against Australia during their tour to UAE in late 2018. Fakhar gave the men in green an ideal start in the first innings scoring 94 (198) which helped them reach a score of 282. Australia were bowled out very early which gave Pakistan a massive first innings lead. In the second innings, Fakhar started from where he had left and notched up another half-century (66 off 83) to help his side set the tone for a massive victory. In pursuit of 534, Australia were bowled out for 164 handing one of the biggest victories to Pakistan in international cricket.
Fakhar Zaman centuries: Near misses
There have only been two instances in international cricket where Fakhar got stranded in the nervous 90s. In the 2018 Test match against Australia in UAE, Fakhar played a fine cameo and looked all set to convert his modest score into a record-shattering century. He was playing well at 94 when Labuschagne trapped him right in front of the stumps during the 59th over of the first innings. Pakistan went on to win that match by a mammoth 373 runs.
The second instance where he got stuck in the 90s was also against Australia in a T20I tri-series final. Fakhar played an impressive innings of 91 (46) which kept Pakistan well on track in their chase. However, he failed to finish it off for his side and was dismissed by Richardson by the end of the 16th over. Nevertheless, Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik applied the finishing touches and got the men in green over the line.
All you need to know about Fakhar Zaman centuries: His journey to the top
Fakhar was born on April 10, 1990, in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At age 16, a move to Karachi occurred following the completion of his matriculation. In 2007, he enrolled in the Pakistan Navy as a sailor after finishing his schooling and training at the Pakistan Navy School at Bahadur. His father advised him to shift his focus from cricket to academics as he was perplexed by Fakhar's childhood addiction to cricket.
In 2012, he went to Australia to play for his Navy in the International Defence Cricket Challenge tournament and was later designated as the best player of the tournament. Fast forward to 2020, the Navy presented him with the honorary rank of Lieutenant for his excellence in cricket. Back in Karachi, he persisted with playing cricket at the inter-departmental levels within the Pakistan Navy cricket team. At the navy, he was first spotted by his coach, Azam Khan, who inspired him to pursue cricket professionally.
A year later, the batsman called time on his naval career to fulfill his cricketing ambitions and began appearing for regional teams like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Abbottabad Falcons, and several other Karachi-based teams.
Over the years, Fakhar became a household name in Quaid-e-Azam trophy following his consistent run in the domestic circuit. His brilliant form led to a contract with the Lahore Qalandars in the PSL for the 2016 season. He showed glimpses of the glittery talent that he'd been displaying domestically, especially during a rapid-fire 56 against Karachi where he demolished the opposition bowling in an elegant fashion. It earned him a call-up to Pakistan's T20I side for the West Indies tour, where he made his debut in the second match in Port of Spain.
At present, Fakhar is a true match-winner for his side with a lot of unfulfilled ambitions. His magical innings against India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final will be etched in the minds of his fans for generations to come.
Fakhar Zaman: Other records
Apart from the Fakhar Zaman centuries record, Fakhar is in possession of some very fascinating records in international cricket. On 20 July 2018, he became the first Pakistani batsman to score an ODI double-century against Zimbabwe. Two days later, he became the fastest batsman to reach 1,000 runs in ODIs.
Besides, Fakhar's 193 against South Africa in a losing cause became the highest individual score while chasing in an ODI surpassing the 185 scored by Shane Watson against Bangladesh. Additionally, Fakhar also became the fourth Pakistani batsman to score three consecutive centuries. He achieved this feat during New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan in early 2023.
