Ayesha Zafar hit her maiden international ton to take Pakistan to a record T20I total of 237-5 against Zimbabwe in the first game of the series today (May 12).
Ayesha Zafar plays record knock to take Pakistan to mammoth total
Pakistan blew away Zimbabwe in the first innings of the first T20I of the three-match series following an ODI clean sweep. The hosts went on to score 237-5, the third-highest women’s T20I total by a full member, only behind Bangladesh’s 255-2 and England’s 250-3. They were powered by Zafar’s 47-ball 102, who got to three figures off the last delivery of the innings.
Fatima Sana opted to bat first in Karachi, but Pakistan lost opener Muneeba Ali in just the second over, bringing Zafar to the middle. Gull Feroza, having scored two hundreds and a fifty in the preceding ODI series, fell for a quickfire 19-ball 37, featuring eight boundaries.
Pakistan lost two more wickets cheaply, but Zafar continued her onslaught, completing a 29-ball fifty with a boundary. She found able support in all-rounder Aliya Raiz, who fell just two short of a fifty, hitting four boundaries and as many maximums in her 23-ball stay.
1st T20I, Pakistan Women vs Zimbabwe Women
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Zafar was 57 off 34 at the end of the 16th over, but hit seven fours and two maximums in the last four overs, scoring 45 off her next 13 deliveries to get to three figures with a boundary to take the side to a massive 237-5 in 20 overs. Zafar, who struck at 217.02 in the match, previously had a T20I strike-rate of 82.50 in 29 matches.
Her 47-ball hundred is also the joint-third-fastest ton in the format, alongside Laura Wolvaardt and Tammy Beaumont. Deandra Dottin holds the record with a 38-ball hundred against South Africa in 2010.
Also read: 50 and 100: Pakistan batter reverses poor start to ODI career after 21 runs in first four games
Highest total by Pakistan in women’s T20Is
| Total | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| 237/5 | Zimbabwe | Karachi | 12 May 2026 |
| 181/4 | South Africa | Multan | 18 Sep 2024 |
| 180/9 | South Africa | Potchefstroom | 10 Feb 2026 |
| 177/5 | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | 7 Jun 2018 |
| 172/5 | South Africa | Benoni | 22 May 2019 |
| 168/6 | Ireland | Dublin | 8 Aug 2025 |
| 167/3 | Bangladesh | Lahore | 28 Oct 2019 |
| 165/5 | Ireland | Cape Town | 15 Feb 2023 |
| 156/2 | Ireland | Dublin | 10 Aug 2025 |
| 156/3 | South Africa | Karachi | 3 Sep 2023 |
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