The Asia Cup 2023 has started tonight with the match between Nepal and the Co-host, Pakistan. It is the biggest cricket tournament in Asia, hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, host Pakistan showed their strength in their opening game against Nepal. Pakistan defeated Nepal by a massive 238 runs to start the tournament.
Toss: Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, won the toss and opted to bat first at Multan Cricket Stadium.
Batting Innings of Pakistan
Winning the toss, Pakistan started their batting innings with Fakhar Zaman and Imamul Haque. Imamul Haque had a brilliant series against Afghanistan, but he failed to contribute much in the opening game of the Asia Cup 2023. Both openers had a slow start and lost their first wicket in the 6th over.
Fakhar Zaman departed the crease after scoring 14 off 20 balls, while Imamul Haque went back to the pavilion after being run out in the following over. Therefore, Pakistan became two men down within seven overs.
However, captain Babar Azam made a brilliant knock to handle the disaster. Skipper Babar Azam built up a solid partnership with Mohammad Rizwan, adding 86 runs on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Rizwan missed the half-century only for six runs.
On the other hand, the captain continued picking runs. With Iftikhar Ahmed, Babar Azam made a very strong partnership. Together they added 114 runs on the scoreboard. The two batters picked up a century today.
Babar Azam scored the highest 151 runs from 131 balls before leaving the crease. He smashed four sixes and 14 boundaries for Pakistan. Meanwhile, Iftikhar Ahmed was very aggressive between the wickets. From 71 runs, he scored an unbeaten 109 runs with four sixes and eleven fours. Relying on their bats, Pakistan ended their innings with a massive 342 runs for six wickets.
Batting Innings of Nepal
Chasing the massive target, the batters of Nepal couldn’t stand in front of Pakistani bowlers. They lost two wickets in the opening over. Pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf were so aggressive. They both picked up two wickets for each.
After a while, spinner Shadab Khan joined in taking wickets. He picked up four wickets alone to destroy Nepal. Three batters of Nepal had gone duck tonight. Moreover, five batters failed to score more than ten runs. As a result, Nepal became all-out in just 104 runs. As a result, Pakistan registered the victory by a massive 238 runs to start the Asia Cup 2023.
Babar Azam’s Reaction
Pakistan captain Babar Azam shared his thoughts on winning the first game. He said, “When I went in, the ball wasn’t coming on properly, so I was trying to build an innings with Rizwan. Then we had a different phase, sometimes Rizwan gave me confidence, and sometimes I gave him belief. Iftikhar also played a great innings when he came on.”
