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Cricket

Asia Cup 2023: Pakistan beat Nepal in the opening match by 238 runs

On Wednesday, Pakistan thrashed Nepal by a large score of 238 runs in the opening game of the Asia Cup. Shaheen Shah Afridi scored twice in the opening over as Nepal was finally bowled out for 104 after scoring 342 for 6 when batting first. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf both had strong spells while Shadab Khan finished with 4/27 from 6.4 overs. Although Aarif Sheikh (26) and Sompal Kami (28) made an effort to stop it, Nepal was bowled out in just 23.4 overs. When Babar Azam struck 151 and Iftikhar Ahmed made an unbeaten 109 while combining 214 runs for the fifth wicket, Pakistan earlier reached a huge total.

After deciding to bat, Babar and Iftikhar were crucial in helping Pakistan reach 342 for six. After a slow start, Babar (151 off 130) was a part of two vital partnerships that helped Pakistan to a commanding total. First, he added 86 runs with Mohammad Rizwan (44 off 50), and then he and Iftikhar (109 not out off 71 balls) shared a quick 214 runs for the fifth wicket.

With two consecutive boundaries off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first two deliveries, Kushal Bhurtel gave Nepal’s pursuit a valiant start. However, it was short-lived as the master left-armer staged an incredible recovery to remove both Bhurtel and Nepal’s captain Rohit Paudel in the next two balls of the over. As Nepal slid to 14 for 3, Naseem Shah entered the fray in the subsequent over and forced an outside edge from Aasif Sheikh, which Iftikhar pounced on in the first flip.

After a fourth-wicket partnership of 59 runs between Aarif Sheikh (26) and Sompal Kami, who were attempting to calm the ship, Haris Rauf broke through the former’s resistance. The best scorer for Nepal, Sompal (28), was then removed by Rauf one over later, bringing the Himalayan country to 82 for 5. As Nepal’s batsmen failed to put up any opposition after that, wickets started to fall like nine pins, and they were finally bowled out for 104 in 23.4 overs.

Babar Azam, Pakistan captain explained: When I went in, I played myself in for a couple of balls. Ball wasn’t coming on, pitch was two-paced. Rizwan and I built a partnership and see what happened. Then, there were different phases. Sometimes, Rizwan gave me confidence and vice-versa. When Iftikhar came, we played different cricket. He can struggle a bit before he gets set. I asked him to play his natural game. After two-three fours, he was comfortable. He smacked it after 40 overs. I’m satisfied. A couple of overs we were not up to the mark. Pacers started well, spinners struck too. This game was good preparation for the India game because it gave us confidence. We want to give 100% every match, hope to do that there as well.

Rohit Paudel, Nepal Captain stated: We started well. We restricted them to under 240 with the ball but let ourselves down with the bat. Wicket-taking balls weren’t there in the middle overs, credit goes to Babar and their team as well. Learning from the game is we need to improve in the death overs, and we need to do well with the ball.

Pakistan XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.

Nepal XI: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (w), Rohit Paudel (c), Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi

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