Multan: Pakistan registered a massive 238 runs victory over minnows Nepal in the Asia Cup opener here on Wednesday.
A number of individual and team landmarks were overhauled during the Pakistan batting innings.
Babar Azam won the toss and invited Nepal to take the field on what appeared to be a decent batting strip. The Asia Cup debutants showed discipline in the initial overs and controlled the scoring rate.
Nepal’s accurate work on the field yielded results in the form of wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq in the sixth and seventh overs respectively. Hereafter, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan reconstructed the Pakistan innings and helped the side cross 100, an ICC report said.
However, Nepal struck back in the middle overs, accounting for Rizwan and Salman Agha. Babar then helped Pakistan stamp their authority on the game with the help of Iftikhar Ahmed.
Together the duo added 214 runs from merely 131 balls, which is now the highest fifth-wicket stand for Pakistan in ODI cricket. Their previous best was a 176-run partnership between Umar Akmal and Younis Khan against Sri Lanka in 2009.
Babar notched up his 19th ODI century in the 42nd over. With this, he stands second in the list of Pakistan century-makers in ODI cricket. This was also his 31st international hundred, which equals him to Pakistan legends Javed Miandad and Saeed Anwar.
Babar’s 151 off 131 balls was not only his second-highest ODI score but also the second-highest score by an individual batter in Asia Cup history.
At the other hand, Iftikhar achieved his highest score in ODI cricket. His unbeaten 109, which came off just 71 balls, was also his maiden ODI century. (Inputs from UNI)
