Asia Cup 2023: Pakistan Started the Campaign with a Thumping 238-Runs Win Over Nepal

In the opening match of the Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan squared off with the nave team of Nepal. Pak won the toss and opted to bat first. The match was played at Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan. Up until the second drinks break, Nepal did well, but after that, their bowling and, more worrisome, their fielding performances, were dreadful. Babar Azam and Ifthikhar Ahmed's massive 214-run partnership altered the course of the game. With some fantastic ball hitting by two of Pakistan's most explosive hitters, they started attacking in the final 10 overs and never looked back.

Nepal simply lacked solutions; their fielders disengaged midway through the game, and their bowlers appeared despondent. The highlights of this innings, which illuminated the Multan evening, were Ifthikhar Ahmed's first ODI century and Babar's magnificent century, both of which were footnotes. Multiple records were broken in today's match. Babar and Iftikhar shared the 3^rd highest partnership for any wicket in Asia Cup (ODI). The duo also recorded the highest 4^th wicket partnership for Pakistan in ODIs. In addition to this, Babar (151 off 131) scored the highest ODI score by any Pakistan Captain in ODIs. 

Iftikhar remained unbeaten and scored 109 off 71. Chasing down the mammoth score on board, Pakistan had their tails up and Shaheen bowled the first over. He clinched two wickets in the first over, giving quick setbacks to the inexperienced Nepal. The batters succumbed to the high pressure caused by the large required run rate. The lack of experience and the all-round performance of Pakistan didn't allow any batter of Nepal to contribute in the run chase. Shaheen Afridi got things going with a pair of runs in the first over, while Naseem too had early success with his spell. 

Sompal Kami and Aarif Sheikh formed a collaboration in Nepal, but Haris Rauf's relentless pace ultimately proved to be their downfall. As soon as Shadab finished off the tail to end, the wickets began to tumble rapidly. He had outstanding statistics of 4/27. Nepal could only manage to put 104 against Pakistan and got all out in just 23.4 overs. However, this match was over after Babar's 151-runs first inning and Iftikhar Ahmed's first ODI century. Nepal had a difficult learning curve as they were badly outmatched in both batting and bowling, but skipper Rohit Paudel would be most impacted by their subpar fielding performances. Stay tuned with us for Asia Cup live score, Pak vs Nepal updates, cricket updates, and cricket Samachar!