Multan, Aug 30 (IANS): Captain Babar Azam stood tall to slam a mammoth 151 off 131 balls and was well supported by middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed hitting 109 not out off 71 balls to lift Pakistan to a gigantic 342-6 against Nepal in the opening match of Asia Cup here at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Electing to bat first on a dry pitch, Pakistan lost their openers early and had suffered a middle-overs slump. But Babar and Iftikhar shared a sensational 214-run partnership for the fifth wicket, the highest-ever for Pakistan at this position in the ODIs, to set up a very daunting chase for Nepal.
Once Babar went past his 19th ODI hundred coming in just 67 balls, Iftikhar began to change gears for playing a counter-attacking innings, thus changing the complexion of the match. The duo then accelerated in stunning fashion by taking on Nepal’s bowlers to amass a whopping 129 runs in the last ten overs of Pakistan’s innings.
In the start of the match, Pakistan lost both their openers, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq in the first ten overs. While Zaman nicked behind off Karan KC, Imam went off for a non-existent single and was run-out by a precise direct hit from captain Rohit Paudel.
Babar stitched an 86-run partnership with wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan, before the latter ran for a simple single in the 24th over, but fielder Dipendra Singh Airee hit the stumps with a direct throw.
While running towards the non-strikers end, Rizwan did not ground his bat and it seemed like he was trying to evade the throw. As a result, he was well short of the crease, not dragging his bat in time and was run out for 44 off 50 balls.
Four overs later, Agha Salman miscued his reverse sweep to backward point, leaving Pakistan in trouble. But Babar held up one end even when wickets were falling and reached his fifty quickly.
From there, he oozed determination, timing and elegance to hit the first century of the ongoing competition. Eventually, Babar hit 14 fours and four sixes in his knock of 151 under the sapping Multan heat. Iftikhar was no less, bringing out the big hits to smash 11 fours and 4 sixes during his stay at the crease as Pakistan crossed 300-mark.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 342-6 in 50 overs (Babar Azam 151, Iftikhar Ahmed 109 not out; Sompal Kami 2-85, Karan KC 1-54) against Nepal