By our correspondent
According to the sources of Daily Notable, Pakistan beat Nepal in the first match of the Asia Cup 2023 by a substantial margin of 238 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
The hosts played a complete match and dominated the visitors in all aspects of the game.
Pakistan continued their excellent form after entering the Asia Cup on a high as they topped the ICC rankings for ODI teams on Saturday after a 3-0 clean sweep over Afghanistan in Sri Lanka.
Shadab Khan took four wickets for his team for just 27 runs and was key to the Green Shirts winning by a wide margin as the visitors were bowled out for 104 runs.
Mohammad Rizwan’s stumping behind the wicket and Fakhar Zaman’s stunning catch were the highlights of the second innings of the match.
Shaheen Shah Afridi did what he does best as he sent two Nepalese batsmen back to the pavilion in the first over.
Earlier in the first innings, Pakistan posted a mammoth total of 342-6 in 50 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
Captain Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed led the way for Pakistan with brilliant centuries.
Ahmed remained unbeaten on 109 runs in 71 balls with the help of 11 fours and four sixes.
Meanwhile, Azam was dismissed after scoring 151 runs in 131 balls which included 14 fours and four sixes.
Azam, 28, broke former South Africa batsman Hashim Amla’s record by becoming the fastest player to hit 19 ODI centuries. He achieved this feat in just 102 innings, while Amla did it in her 104.
It should be noted that Babar Azam came to bat after Pakistan collapsed early as they were 25-2 after Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq lost their wickets.
The 28-year-old stood tall at the crease and forged a vital 86-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan before running out of wicket batter in bizarre fashion. Rizwan scored 44 runs in 50 balls.
After Rizwan lost his wicket, Salman Agha (5) came to bat too, he didn’t last long and lost his wicket while attempting a reverse shot to Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane.
After Aghina’s wicket, Azam put on a solid partnership of 214 runs in just 131 balls with Iftikhar Ahmed.
Nepal as a team and Multan as a venue made their Asia Cup debut. It was also the first match between Pakistan and Nepal at the highest level.
Team
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Rohit Paudel (c), Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
