After centurions Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed took the clueless Nepal bowlers to the cleaners on the Multan Cricket Stadium, the batters surrendered in opposition to top-notch Pakistani tempo bowling assault, handing the hosts their first win of the match.
On a batting magnificence, each Babar and Iftikhar went hammer and tongs, lifting Pakistan to 342 for six. The Shaheen Afridi-led bowling assault then ran by way of the Nepalese top-order with the brand new balls, deciding the destiny of the match very early within the second innings. Haris Rauf and spinners then wrapped up the proceedings shortly as Nepal folded for 104 within the 24th over.
The win is now Pakistan’s third greatest when it comes to runs in ODIs.
Here is a have a look at the important thing moments of the Pakistan vs Nepal Asia Cup opener.
As It Occurred
Early bother
After skipper Babar Azam received the toss and opted to bat, Nepal bowlers made early inroads, eradicating openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq inside the primary seven overs. Whereas Zaman fell chasing a large Karan KC supply exterior off for 14, Imam terribly misjudged a run as Rohit Paudel pulled off an outstanding direct hit, eliminating the left-hander for five. Skipper Babar and Mohammad Rizwan then joined palms to sew an 86-run third-wicket partnership, steadying the hosts after early setbacks. However then, in opposition to the run of play, Rizwan acquired run out within the 24th over in a weird method for 44. Leggie Sandeep Lamichhane then removed Agha Salman for five as Nepal regarded to benefit from the double breakthroughs.
Babar, Iftikhar present
At simply over the midway mark, Pakistan discovered themselves struggling a bit at 124 for Four when Iftikhar Ahmed joined Babar within the center. Whereas his skipper continued to construct the innings, Iftikhar regarded a bit extra proactive, taking over the Nepal bowlers. The duo batted fantastically in opposition to the Nepal bowlers, respecting the occasional good balls and dispatching the dangerous one often to the fence. Because the partnership between Babar and Iftikhar stored one going, Nepal discovered themselves below stress, bowling too many dangerous balls together with fairly a number of misfields. As Babar raised his 19th ODI ton off 109 balls within the 42nd over, he then took, scoring his subsequent 50 runs very quickly. As boundaries rained, Iftikhar acquired to his maiden three-figure mark off simply 67 balls. The mammoth 131-ball 214 partnership was ultimately damaged within the ultimate over.
The information
Firing an outstanding 151, Babar turned the quickest batter to attain 19 ODI a whole bunch. The 28-year-old raced to his 19th ton in his 102nd innings, bettering the report of former South Africa batter Hashim Amla, who took 104 innings. With the ton, Babar additionally drew stage with Pakistan legends Javed Miandad and Saeed Anwar as he now has 31 worldwide a whole bunch below his belt — 19 in ODIs, 9 in Assessments and three in T20Is. The 150-plus rating was additionally Babar’s second within the format. Iftikhar, on the different finish, fired his maiden ton of the format and have become the quickest centurion (67 balls) in ODIs in Pakistan. Pakistan scored an enormous 129 runs within the ultimate 10 overs to complete at a towering 342 for six.
New-ball masterclass
The famend Pakistani tempo assault acquired stepping into type as Shaheen Afridi (2/27) grabbed a few wickets within the very first over of the chase. After Kushal Bhurtel was caught behind for 8, the very subsequent ball was a Afridi particular, a fiery yorker, tailing again into Rohit Paudel and trapping him in entrance for a golden duck. Within the very subsequent over, Naseem Shah (1/17) eliminated Aasif Sheikh for five as Nepal discovered themselves reeling at 14 for three inside the primary two overs.
Menacing Rauf
After the top-order collapse, Aarif Sheikh (26) and Sompal Kami (28) did handle to outlive Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah onslaught, including 59 runs for the fourth wicket. However then, they had been up in opposition to the sheer tempo of Haris Rauf (2/16). The pace service provider clocked 150 kph deliveries at will, rattling each Sheikh and Sompal. As each fell within the 15th and the 17th overs respectively, it triggered one other collapse for Nepal. Shadab Khan (4/27) and Mohammad Nawaz (1/13) then wrapped up issues fairly shortly as Nepal folded for 104 in 23.Four overs.
