NEP 104 All Out in 23.4 Overs | Pakistan vs Nepal Highlights of Asia Cup 2023: Babar Azam, Bowlers Lead Charge As Pakistan Secure Massive 238-Run Victory In Tournament Opener

That's it! Shadab Khan strikes twice in one over to wrap up the Nepal innings. It has been a massively one sided game with Pakistan batting out Nepal off the game in the first innings and then following it up with a tremendous bowling performance. They will enter the contest against India with boosted morale on September 2. 

Nepal crashes down like a pack of cards now as soon as spinners start to operate from Pakistan. Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz shares three wickets among themselves and now look to close out the game fast. 

Nepal has lost another wicket and are really struggling now. Pakistan bowlers have dominated proceedings till now and will want out close the game as quickly as possible. 

Out! Something had to give and it does. Aarif Sheikh tries to swing Haris Rauf out of the park but he ends up to be too fast for him. A gritty but not so fast partnership ends for Nepal. 

Sompal Kami and Aarif Sheikh has successfully weathered the initial blows of the Pakistan bowling. They took a step back after the first three wickets and since then looked for a phase of consolidation and showed grit. They have a mammoth task ahead of them. 

Out! The stranglehold tightens. Aasif Sheikh goes for a expansive drive. Naseem's ball comes in a touch and he nicks it to the safe hands of Iftikhar Ahmed in slip cordon. Nepal in big trouble now and Pakistan way ahead in the game. 

Out! Another day another dual strike in one over from Shaheen Shah Afridi. After Kushal Bhurtel, he removes Nepal captain Rohit Paudel on golden duck. Typical from Shaheen, with the ball slightly coming in and traps Paudel in front of the wicket. 

Out! Inevitable Shaheen Shah Afridi strikes in his first over. He has been the source of Pakistan's powerplay wickets and this time strangles Kushal Bhurtel down the legside to provide Pakistan their opening breakthrough. 

Although Babar Azam lost his wicket in the final over, he will be happy with his effort and so will be Pakistan. They will be happier with the kind of knock Iftikhar Ahmed played, also bringing up his century while completely destroying the Nepal attack, taking Pakistan well beyond 300. 

The partnership between Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed gets only better.  Babar accelerated massively after completing his century and now gets to 150. Iftikhar, on the other hand has absolutely destroyed the Nepal and nears his century. 

That's It! Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed stitches a very important partnership together and along the way both batters reach a milestone. Babar completes his 19th ODI century while Iftikhar Ahmed also reaches his fifty. Pakistan are building towards a solid finish. 

Pakistan are slowly starting to play the big shots with Iftikhar Ahmed playing the aggressor's sole. This allows Babar Azam to play at his own pace and we are in for a big finish here if these two remain till the end. 

After 33 overs, Pakistan would not be impressed with their effort so far, especially with the partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Nepal have been really good on the field despite the occasional lapses. They have been disciplined with the ball so far but Babar Azam has been classy as usual. He got to his 29th fifty and also survived a caught and bowled effort subsequently. Now, he holds the key if Pakistan are to post a strong total here. 

FIFTY! The runs keep coming for Babar Azam, who has once again played a good knock! The Pakistan captain has stood tall even as wickets fell at the other end and got to his 29th ODI fifty. He has worked hard for this knock and now, would look to convert it into a big score. 

OUT! One wicket brings two and now, Sandeep Lamichhane has dismissed Agha Salman. The right-hander did not look comfortable and perished while attempting to play a reverse sweep, with Kushal Bhurtel taking a good catch. Nepal have been very impressive, especially in the field and they are slightly ahead in terms of momentum. A while ago, it was all Pakistan with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan at the crease and now, things have changed. Agha Salman c Kushal Bhurtel b Sandeep Lamichhane 5(14)

OUT! And one more piece of good fielding from Nepal! Mohammad Rizwan has been run out by a direct hit from Dipendra Singh Airee. The wicketkeeper-batter was seemingly worried he would get hit by the ball and did not ground his bat while the ball took out the stumps at the non-striker's end. Pakistan have lost a wicket against the run of play here. Mohammad Rizwan run out (Dipendra Singh Airee) 44(50)

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are ticking along pretty well here for Pakistan, with both now slowly starting to play some shots. The two have a lot of experience of batting in situations similar to this and it is showing here. Nepal are being persistent and it seems that we are in for some excitement in the remaining innings. 

Pakistan have been extremely cautious with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stitching a 40-run partnership in this innings. The hosts have lost both openers in quick time and surely they would want to lose one more here. Nepal meanwhile are going at it and ideally would want one more wicket here to keep the pressure on Pakistan. 

It has been a decent outing for Nepal in the first powerplay with two wickets. Initially it seemed that Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman would get off to solid start but instead, they were cautious. And Nepal's persistent bowling yielded fruit. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have a task at hand. They would ideally want a big partnership here. 

OUT! And one more wicket for Nepal! Captain Rohit Paudel has pulled off a sensational direct hit to knock out the stumps at the non-striker's end with Imam-ul-Haq falling short of his crease. The left-hander tried to sneak a quick single but ended up falling short of his crease. Nepal are slowly building momentum here. Imam-ul-Haq run out (Rohit Paudel)