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Cricket Asia Cup 2023

‘Dekhte hai 2 September ko’ - Fans react as Pakistan register 238-run victory over Nepal in Asia Cup 2023

Here is how fans have reacted as Pakistan defeat Nepal by a huge margin of 238 runs in the Asia Cup 2023 opener

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Pakistan vs Nepal, Asia Cup 2023

Pakistan vs Nepal, Asia Cup 2023 (Image Source: Twitter)

The 16th edition of the Asia Cup began on 30 August 2023 as Pakistan took on Nepal in Multan Cricket Stadium. In front of the home crowd, Babar Azam and his men were looking for a winning start while Nepal were looking to produce a good performance as it was their first-ever match in this tournament.  

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Speaking of the match, Babar won the toss and opted to bat first. After defeating Afghanistan in the last series 3-0, Pakistan became the new number-one-ranked ODI team. So, fans were expecting a dominating performance from them. For the home side, Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman came out to open the innings.

Pakistan defeated Nepal by 238 runs

However, it was a very slow start for them as they lost both openers cheaply. Fakhar scored just 14 runs while Imam got out on five runs. The number one-ranked ODI batter came out to bat at the number three position and steadied the ship with Mohammad Rizwan. For the third wicket, they stitched a partnership of 86 runs before Rizwan got run out in a bizarre way. But, it was the mammoth 214-run partnership between Babar and Iftikhar Ahmed that set the tone for the home side and finally, they scored 342 runs for six wickets in 50 overs. Babar notched up his 19th ODI ton and scored 151 runs off 131 balls, including 14 fours and four sixes.

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Iftikhar also remained not out on 109* runs off 71 balls, including 11 fours and four sixes. In reply, Pakistan bowlers were on a role as Nepal were struggling after losing three wickets for 14 runs in 1.4 overs. Then, a 59-run partnership happened between Aarif Sheikh and Sompal Kami. But, they also got out and after 19 overs, they needed 257 runs in 31 overs with five wickets in hand. Finally, Nepal got bundled out for 104 runs in 23.4 overs and lost the game by 238 runs. Shadab Khan took four wickets while both Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf took two wickets each. Both Mohammad Nawaz and Naseem Shah also grabbed one wicket each.   

Here is how fans have reacted:

Cricket News Pakistan featured Babar Azam Nepal Asia Cup 2023 Twitter Reactions