A number of individual and team landmarks were overhauled during the Pakistan batting against Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023 opener at Multan.

Babar Azam won the toss and invited Nepal to take the field on what appeared to be a decent batting strip. The Asia Cup debutants showed discipline in the initial overs and controlled the scoring rate.

Nepal’s accurate work on the field yielded results in the form of wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq in the sixth and seventh overs respectively.

Hereafter, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan reconstructed the Pakistan innings and helped the side cross 100.

However, Nepal struck back in the middle overs, accounting for Rizwan and Salman Agha. Babar then helped Pakistan stamp their authority on the game with the help of Iftikhar Ahmed.

The No.1 ranked player in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's ODI Rankings for batters, Babar is in a league of his own with a whopping 100 rating points separating him and the next batter on the list. And if the Asia Cup opener was any indicator, the gap will only continue to grow as the tournament progresses.