Pak off with a bang

Babar Azam (left) and Iftikhar Ahmed during their 214-run stand against Nepal at Multan yesterday. Pic/AFP

Skipper Babar Azam hit a delightful 151, while Iftikhar Ahmed smashed his maiden ODI century as Pakistan thrashed minnows Nepal by 238 runs in the opening match of the Asia Cup, here on Wednesday.

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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Babar decorated his knock with 14 fours and four sixes, while Iftikhar, who was at his destructive best, struck 11 boundaries and four hits over the fence.

This was after Pakistan made an unimpressive start to their innings as they lost both the openers early. It was always going to be a Herculean task for Nepal and it turned out to be so. Leg-break bowler Shadab Khan cleaned up Nepal's tail to return with impressive figures of 4-27.

Brief scores
Pakistan 342-6 in 50 overs (B Azam 151, I Ahmed 109', M Rizwan 44; S Kami 2-85) beat Nepal 104 all out in 23.4 overs (Kami 28; S Khan 4-27, H Rauf 2-16, S Afridi 2-27) by 238 runs

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