‘Kamzor team ko dho kar kaleja thunda ho gaya’ – Fans react as Pakistan thrash Nepal by 238 runs in Asia Cup 2023 opener

In the opening game of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan played debutants, Nepal in Multan. This was the first ODI game between both teams. Meanwhile, in the game, the home side, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. The reason cited was the wicket was being dry. Meanwhile, the two-time winners had a poor start as they lost their openers, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul Haq.

At 25/2, the likes of skipper Babar Azam and wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan put together 86 runs for the third wicket. However, the latter’s run out due to his casualness, and Salman Agha’s getting out caught at point reduced the former champions to 124/4. At this stage, the likes of Iftikhar Ahmad and Azam helped the team recover and post an improbable total for the Blue Brigade to chase down.

They put together 214 runs and helped the team reach 342/6. Azam amassed 151 while Ahmad reached 109 not out and it was his first ODI hundred.

Pakistan tames Nepal in their Asia Cup debut

In reply, the Asian debutants had a great start in the first over but lost two wickets. After hitting 10 runs, they lost two back-to-back wickets Kushal Bhartel got strangled down the leg side. Aasif Sheikh was the third wicket to fall to Naseem Shah.

At 14/3, the likes of Aarif Sheikh and Sompal Kami put together 59 runs for the fourth wicket. Knowing that they won’t win the game, the duo showed a lot of fight against the number one ODI side. They were the only batters to get past the 20-run mark. However, after Haris Rauf removed Sheikh, it was only a matter of time for the Blue Brigade.

From 71/3, they were bowled out for 104 runs, losing the game by 238 runs. Shadab Khan took four wickets while Rauf and Shaheen Afridi took two each. The latter was sweating a lot after his first spell and had to change his shirt. No injury for any player as of now.

This is how Twitter reacted

https://twitter.com/SharyOfficial/status/1696916032365928756?s=20

https://twitter.com/statpad_R/status/1696916095842820446?s=20