"Why did you drop him?" - Aakash Chopra lauds Fakhar Zaman's explosive century in Pakistan's 2023 World Cup win vs New Zealand

Aakash Chopra has lauded Fakhar Zaman for scoring a blazing century in Pakistan's 2023 World Cup win against New Zealand and questioned why he was dropped for a few games.

The Kiwis posted a mammoth 401/6 after being asked to bat first in Bengaluru on Saturday, November 4. Fakhar then smoked an unbeaten 126 off just 81 deliveries as the Men in Green registered a 21-run win via the DLS method to keep their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive.

Reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted that Pakistan deserved to win the game and praised Fakhar for playing a match-defining knock. He elaborated (7:55):

"The DLS target was reduced slightly because of rain. You can say that 400 runs don't get chased but it's not Pakistan's fault. They were ahead by quite a big margin based on the rules and the better team on the day actually won."

The former India opener added:

"Luck was slightly in their favor but you need to write your own luck. You have to praise Fakhar Zaman for that because Babar was going at a run-a-ball only at the other end, but this guy batted amazingly well. Why did you drop him?"

Fakhar smashed eight fours and 11 sixes during his 126-run effort. The left-handed opener and Babar Azam (66* off 63) strung together an unbroken 194-run second-wicket partnership after Abdullah Shafique was dismissed cheaply.

---

"Pakistan's bowling, which used to be their strength, has been their weakness in this entire tournament" - Aakash Chopra

The New Zealand batters took the Pakistan bowling to the cleaners. [P/C: AP]

On the flip side, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Pakistan continued to disappoint with the ball. He explained (6:40):

"Pakistan's bowling, which used to be their strength, has been their weakness in this entire tournament. Australia scored 350 runs on this ground itself and New Zealand have scored 400. Sri Lanka scored 350 in Hyderabad. If you are conceding so many runs, it means the bowling does not have the might."

While acknowledging that Mohammad Wasim bowled an impressive spell, Chopra highlighted that Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf proved extremely expensive. He stated:

"Shaheen Shah Afridi also got hit a lot this time. Haris Rauf got hit a lot. Rauf has been getting hit a lot in this entire tournament. Mohammad Wasim did pick up three wickets for sure, he is good, he gets the ball to swing, but other than that, the bowling was extremely ordinary."

Wasim registered figures of 3/60 in his 10-over spell. Afridi and Rauf picked up a solitary wicket between them and conceded 175 runs in their combined 20 overs.