Pakistan thrash Nepal by 238 runs in Asia Cup's opening match

After 15 years, Pakistan is hosting the regional cricket event in the Multan Cricket Stadium

MULTAN (Dunya News) - Pakistan defeated Nepal by a huge margin of 238 runs in first game of the Asia Cup 2023 in Multan on Wednesday.

The team green restricted the visitors to 104 as they were chasing the challenging target of 343 runs. Shadab Khan removed four Nepalese players while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf took two wickets each.

Earlier, A strong partnership of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and middle order batsman Iftikhar Ahmed helped Pakistan set a strong target of 343 runs for Nepal in first game of the Asia Cup 2023 in Multan on Wednesday.

The skipper held the reins after Pakistan suffered early losses following the removal of Imamul Haq and Fakhar Zaman. Mohammad Rizwan could score 44 runs.

At that time, Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed built a fifth-wicket partnership as the former made 151 off 131 while the latter scored unbeaten 109 runs.

Earlier Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first.

1️⃣2️⃣9️⃣ runs scored in the last 10 overs! Fireworks in @babarazam258 and @IftiMania's record stand lift Pakistan to 3️⃣4️⃣2️⃣-6️⃣ #PAKvNEP | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/r1U2zVxVBa

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 30, 2023

After 15 years, Pakistan is hosting the regional cricket event in the Multan Cricket Stadium.The 16th edition of the Asia Cup cricket tournament officially started in Multan today (Wednesday) and the green caps led by Babar Azam are facing Nepal. 

Pakistan and Sri Lanka are hosting the Asia Cup jointly and the event will be concluded on Sep 17. Pakistan will fly to Sri Lanka on Aug 31 to play India in the second Group-A match on Sept 2 at Kandy. The venue will also host the third and final match of the group between India and Nepal on Sept 4. 

Pakistan on Tuesday revealed its playing XI for the opening match. The playing X1 includes three frontline quicks and three spin-bowling all-rounders. The selections provide maximum bowling options to the green shirts.

The team has made few changes in the playing XI that played Afghanistan in the final ODI in Colombo. Iftikhar Ahmed slots into the middle-order while Saud Shakeel makes way. Pakistan have picked Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf while dropped Mohammad Wasim. Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Agha will make a lethal combination of spinners.

The batting line has a familiar look as Iftikhar is coming back into the middle-order after missing the final ODI against Afghanistan.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Usama Mir. Traveling reserve: Tayyab Tahir

Pakistan’s last trip to Multan in the format was in June last year and the home side enjoyed resounding success over the West Indies by thrashing them 3-0 in the three-match series.

The team played 10 ODIs in Multan and won seven.

“It is always a great feeling to play in front of the passionate Multan crowd and we all are very excited that the Asia Cup is beginning from this city,” Pakistan captain Babar Azam said on the eve of the contest.

“I want to congratulate Nepal for qualifying for the Asia Cup and I hope that their participation will give a boost to the development of the sport in the country. We are looking forward to playing Nepal and I am sure it will be a good contest.”

Pakistan enter the Asia Cup with momentum on their side as it topped the ICC rankings for ODI teams on Saturday after securing a 3-0 whitewash over Afghanistan in Sri Lanka.

This is the second instance of the team surmounting the chart since April. Pakistan also boast the best win/loss ratio of 2.750 with 22 wins in 31 matches in this World Cup cycle.

The team has enjoyed success across formats at home and away recently.

In April-May, they levelled the T20 International series 2-2 and won the five-match ODI series 4-1 against New Zealand, whitewashed Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in the two-Test series in July and defeated Afghanistan 3-0 in ODIs in Sri Lanka this month.

Reflecting on whether there is an added pressure for being the top-ranked side, Babar said, “I would not say that there is a pressure. Rather, we enter this tournament with more confidence. This team has put in a lot of hard work and effort over the last few years and we achieving the top spot is a testimony of it. The job, however, is not done as we want to win the Asia Cup and the World Cup. We have some competitive and exciting next few months lined up and we are eager to do well for our country.”

T O S S A L E R T Pakistan win the toss and elect to bat first #PAKvNEP | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/iuuZfKfQv1

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 30, 2023