For all the cricket-starved in this country, the past three days have been an exhilarating tale of entertainment and anticipation, with the T20 series ending with a last-over thriller. Spectators remained on the edge of their seats until Bilawal Bhatti’s calm and crucial last over blows saw his side to victory in what is a very welcome home series win against Zimbabwe.
To add to the memories, here are some figures to underline all the action that took place:
1
This was the first time Shahid Afridi captained Pakistan on the home soil. The flamboyant all-rounder has led Pakistan in 62 international matches before, none of them in Pakistan.
2
Openers Mukhtar Ahmed and Ahmed Shehzad registered half-centuries in the first T20. This was the second instance when Pakistan’s openers registered a fifty each. The first time this happened was against Bangladesh in Saint Lucia during the third T20 World Cup in 2010, when Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal scored 73 apiece.
5
Excluding the debutants of the second T20, no less than five Pakistani cricketers played their first international fixture in their homeland. Namely, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Mukhtar Ahmed, Ahmed Shehzad, and Umar Akmal.
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Pakistani cricketers take part in a net practice session at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore on May 20, 2015.—AFP |
7
Last night's victory over Zimbabwe was Pakistan’s seventh straight win over the visitors in the seven T20 these two teams have played thus far.
58
Sean Williams’ second T20 International score was the best by any Zimbabwean batsman against Pakistan. His 32-ball innings included 7 fours and a six. The previous best of 54 came from captain Elton Chigumbura in the first T20.
72.50
That is what Mukhtar Ahmed averaged in the two T20s. It bagged him both Man-of-the-Match awards as well as the Man-of-The-Series award.
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Mukhtar Ahmed hits over the top.—AFP |
83
Mukhtar Ahmed registered the second highest score by a Pakistani against Zimbabwe in the first game. Ahmed Shehzad’s two-year old 98* remains to be the highest score by a Pakistani against Zimbabwe in the format.
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100
Last night’s T20 was the centennial of international games played in Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. The ground has now hosted 58 ODIs, 40 Tests, and two T20 Internationals.
176
The run-chase in the second match was the second highest successful one for Pakistan (it also happens to be the second closest, with two wickets and two balls remaining). The team’s highest successful run chase, 178-2, came against Bangladesh in the fourth T20 World Cup. The closest win was against the West Indies in Kingstown in 2013, when the team won by two wickets with no balls remaining.
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Shahid Afridi captained Pakistan for the first time on home soil.—AFP |
182
That is the number of runs Mukhtar Ahmed has scored in his first three T20 Internationals, making him the highest run-getter in his first three T20Is, leaving Sanath Jayasuria behind. Mukhtar surpassed the Sri Lankan star by two runs.
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27000
The number of cricket enthusiasts, who converged at the Gaddafi Stadium on each of the two days, to cheer the colossal moment in Pakistan’s cricket history. The number would have been much bigger had the stadium been more spacious.
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Spectators cheer their team during the first International T20 match.—AFP |