Pakistan opener Saim Ayub smashed a 53-ball century against Zimbabwe, becoming the first Pakistan batter not named Shahid Afridi to smash an ODI hundred under 60 balls.
Playing just his fifth ODI, Ayub made short work of a 146-run chase, combining with Abdullah Shafique (32 off 48) to bring up a ten-wicket win and hit the joint third-fastest ODI century by a Pakistan batter.
This is the highest score chased down by Pakistan under 20 overs in an ODI, and only the second instance of it happening without losing any wickets. Their 148-0 is now the lowest total in ODI history to contain an individual century.
Ayub hit 17 fours and three sixes in his innings, finishing on 113 off 62. It's only the joint-lowest sixes (3) hit in an under-60 ball ODI century, matching Aiden Markram (49 balls) and AB de Villiers (58 balls). Ayub took 32 balls for his first fifty, and just 21 for his next one.
Saim Ayub hammered a 53-ball century as Pakistan cruised to a 10-wicket win against Zimbabwe 🤯
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) November 26, 2024
He remained unbeaten on 113 off just 62 deliveries.
Scorecard ➡️ https://t.co/RwyuDJMUol pic.twitter.com/BJ9dTuAzCc
It helped Pakistan level the series with the decider to be played on November 28. Zimbabwe won the first ODI, a rain-affected one, by DLS method.
After winning the Player of the Match award, Ayub said: "In the previous match, the ball was stopping more and the weather was also different. Today, it was slow on one side and better from the other. You had to be careful and I didn't think I could use all my shots".
Unsurprisingly, the top three slots have belonged to Shahid Afridi, who held the record for the fastest ODI century in the world for 18 years.
Earlier, ODI debutant Abrar Ahmed emulated Abdul Qadirby becoming the only Pakistan spinner to take a four-for in his first game. Nine out of the ten Zimbabwe wickets were taken by spinners, with the remaining one being a run out.
Fastest men's ODI tons by Pakistan: Full list
| Final score | Balls to 100 | Fours | Sixes | Player | Opposition | Year |
| 102 | 37 | 11 | 6 | Shahid Afridi | Sri Lanka | 1996 |
| 102 | 45 | 9 | 10 | Shahid Afridi | India | 2005 |
| 124 | 53 | 4 | 17 | Shahid Afridi | Bangladesh | 2010 |
| 113* | 53 | 17 | 3 | Saim Ayub | Zimbabwe | 2024 |
| 152 | 61 | 9 | 16 | Sharjeel Khan | Ireland | 2016 |
| 126* | 63 | 11 | 8 | Fakhar Zaman | New Zealand | 2023 |
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