After deciding to bat in Asia Cup 1st Match, Babar and Iftikhar played critical roles in propelling Pakistan to 342 for six.
Pakistan crushed Nepal by 238 runs in the opening match of the Asia Cup on Wednesday, led by Babar Azam’s 151 and Iftikhar Ahmed’s maiden ODI century.
After deciding to bat, Babar and Iftikhar played critical roles in propelling Pakistan to 342 for six.
After a slow start in 1st match of Asia cup, Babar (151 off 130) was engaged in two vital partnerships, first stitching 86 runs with Mohammad Rizwan (44 off 50) and then sharing a blistering 214 runs for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar (109 not out off 71 balls) to help Pakistan to an impressive total.
In his innings, Babar smashed 14 fours and four sixes, while Iftikhar, who was on fire, smashed 11 boundaries and four hits.
This came after Pakistan made a shaky start to their innings of 1st match in Asia Cup, losing both openers early.
It was always going to be a Herculean undertaking for Nepal, and it was.
Kushal Bhurtel made a bold start to Nepal’s chase with successive boundaries off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first two balls, but his bravery was short-lived as the ace left-arm produced a stunning return to dismiss him and Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel in the final two balls of the over.
In the next over, Naseem Shah got in on the act, inducing an outside edge from Aasif Sheikh, which Iftikhar pounced on in the first flip as Nepal fell to 14 for 3.
Aarif Sheikh (26) and Sompal Karmi then attempted to right the ship with a 59-run fourth-wicket stand until Haris Rauf broke through the former’s defense.
Rauf then dismissed Nepal’s leading run-scorer Sompal (28) an over later, reducing the Himalayan country to 82 for 5.
Following that, wickets tumbled like nine pins as Nepal’s batters failed to put up any opposition, finally being bowled out for 104 in 23.4 overs. Shahdab Khan, a leg-break bowler, cleaned out Nepal’s tail to finish with 4 for 27.
Earlier, Fakhar Zaman (14) showed early promise but was wonderfully collected by a diving Nepal wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh off the bowling of Karan KC in the sixth over.
Pakistan was dealt another setback soon after when Imam-ul-Haq was caught short of the crease while trying a single that was not to be. Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel concluded his innings with a direct throw.
Babar was subsequently joined at the crease by wicketkeeper-batter Rizwan, who helped Pakistan’s innings to stabilize.
While Babar served as an anchor, Rizwan displayed his attacking instincts during an 86-run third-wicket stand off 111 balls.
However, the duo struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking at the start of their partnership, with Pakistan reaching 50 in the 12th over.
The Pakistani pair kept the clock ticking with strike rotation and hitting bad balls to the boundary to lift the team’s total to 100 in the 22nd over.
Rizwan was struck by a direct hit at the non-striker’s end by Dipendra Singh Airee, who was trying for a quick single. Rizwan paid the price for failing to ground his bat, which is unacceptable at the highest level.
While Babar maintained one end solid, Salman Agha (5) did not cause any bother for the scorers, falling to Sandeep Lamichhane.
Babar reached fifty with a double in the 29th over 1st Match of Asia Cup. However, Iftikhar’s arrival gave Pakistan’s innings a much-needed boost, as he batted strongly from the start.
Iftikhar’s approach appeared to have inspired Babar as well, as he also opened his arms and explored the boundaries at his leisure. Babar hit his century from 109 balls in the 42nd over.
The duo, particularly Iftikhar, toyed with the Nepalese bowlers as fours and sixes rained at free from then on. Iftikhar scored his maiden century in just 67 balls.