Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq’s blistering innings of 151 off 131 balls against England in the third one-day international did not turn out to be for a winning cause, but it still registered several records to his name.
The stylish innings, which included 16 fours and a massive six, not only helped Pakistan post 358-8 in Bristol but also broke a 36-year-old record held by India’s World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev.
At the age of 23 years, Imam has become the youngest batsman to have scored over 150 runs in an ODI in England – a record previously occupied by the former Indian skipper who smashed 175 against Zimbabwe at the age of 24 in 1983 World Cup.
This was also Imam’s personal best score along with the highest runs scored by an individual Pakistani player on English soil. His previous best was 128 against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo last summer.
History Maker
With this century, the spectacled opener also became only fifth Pakistani batsman to score 150+ in an ODI and the youngest one to do so.
He now holds the record of most runs (1381) and most centuries (six) by any Pakistani batsman after 27 matches.
With six centuries, and five half-centuries in 27 games, the left-arm opening batsman also has the second-best batting average (60.04) for minimum 1,000 runs bracket. He left behind the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Joe Root, and Fakhar Zaman.
Disappointed with the defeat, Imam believed his team could have won the game had the fielders had backed their bowlers.
“The score was enough, 360 was an excellent total. We just lost a couple of catches that cost us, and our bowlers did not stick to the plan,” the 23-year-old left-handed opener added.
The two teams will meet again on Friday at Trent Bridge in Nottingham – the highest scoring ground in England – with the hosts two up in the five-match ODI series.
