The Pakistan cricket team had a memorable start to their Asia Cup 2023 campaign on Wednesday as it defeated Nepal by 238 runs. For the Babar Azam-led side it was the perfect preparation for the India vs Pakistan clash that will see them pitted against the arch-rivals who have players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in their ranks. In the match against Nepal, Pakistan ticked all the right boxes as Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed stitched a record stand. Babar Azam smashed 151 in 131 balls consisting of 14 fours and four sixes while Iftikhar Ahmed smashed his maiden century, ending unbeaten on 109 in 71 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes.
Together, the duo added 214 runs for the fifth wicket. It is the third-highest partnership for any wicket in ODI Asia Cup history. This is also the highest fifth-wicket partnership in Asia Cup history. However, there was a point in the match, where the commentators found Iftikhar to be quite animated. The incident happened at the end of the 45th over with Iftikhar, batting on 74 off 56 balls.
“And Iftikhar being animated as well. I don’t know if Iftikhar is thinking about his hundred as well. He has gone up to the captain, and probably said ‘You know what, four overs remaining, let me get my first hundred’,” said one of the commentators.
“What could be the response from Babar Azam. You know the gestures we saw. He must have been telling ‘ let me deal with the job. Don’t worry about your hundred. It’s a team work which is required here’,” said the other commentator.
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— LePakad7 (@AreBabaRe2) August 31, 2023
Babar and Iftikhar played pivotal roles in powering Pakistan to 342 for six after opting to bat.
Babar (151 off 130) was involved in two crucial partnerships after a sedate start — first stitching 86 runs with Mohammad Rizwan (44 off 50) and then sharing a whirlwind 214 runs for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar (109 not out off 71 balls) — to take Pakistan to an imposing total.
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