Pakistan vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023, 1st Match Stats Review: Babar Azam's destruction, Iftikhar Ahmed's maiden century and other stats

Babar Azam's 151 and Iftikhar Ahmed's maiden century laid the foundation for Pakistan's 342-6 before Shadab Khan's 4-36 helped them to a comfortable 238-run win over Nepal in the opening match of the Asia Cup 2023 at Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. 

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Karan KC drew first blood for Nepal by dismissing Fakhar Zaman for 14 runs. Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals and were at 124/4 at one point. Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed put together a 214-run partnership for the fifth wicket, with Babar Azam scoring 151 before being dismissed by Sompal Kami. Iftikhar Ahmed scored his maiden century and remained unbeaten on 109. Pakistan posted a total of 342/6 in 50 overs.

In response to Pakistan's 342, Nepal's batting lineup struggled, with only Sompal Kami (28), Aarif Sheikh (26), and Gulsan Jha (13) reaching double figures. The rest of the batters were dismissed for single-digit scores, and Nepal were all out for a disappointing 104. Babar Azam was the star of the show for Pakistan, scoring 151 runs off 131 balls. He was named the Player of the Match for his outstanding performance.

Here are some important stats and numbers of the 1st match of Asia Cup 2023 played between Pakistan and Nepal. 

151 - Babar Azam's 151 is the highest score by a batter against Nepal in ODIs. He is followed by Michael van Lingen's 133 and Shai Hope's 132 

109* - Iftikhar Ahmed became the fourth Pakistan player to score a century in the Asia Cup. The other Pakistan batters to score centuries are Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, and Babar Azam. 

214 - The Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed pair scripted the highest 5th wicket partnership for Pakistan in ODIs, with 214 runs. This is followed by Umar Akmal and Younis Khan's 176-run partnership against Sri Lanka in 2009 and Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf's 162-run partnership against Australia in 2004. 

109* - Iftikhar Ahmed's highest ODI score is 109*, surpassing his previous best of 94* against New Zealand in 2023. 

67 - Iftikhar Ahmed scored his maiden century by 67 balls, which is the joint fifth fastest century by Pakistan batter along with Basit Ali. The fastest century for Pakistan in ODI cricket is 37 balls, scored by Shahid Afridi against Sri Lanka in 1997. Afridi also holds the second and third fastest centuries for Pakistan with 45 balls against India in 2004/05 and 53 balls against Bangladesh in 2010. The fourth fastest century scored by Sharjeel Khan by 61 balls against Ireland in 2016. 

342/6 - The highest total in Multan Cricket Stadium in ODIs is 342, scored by Pakistan against Nepal in 2023. The second-highest total is 323, scored by Pakistan against Bangladesh in 2003. The third-highest total is 306, also scored by Pakistan against West Indies in 2022. 

151 - Babar Azam's 151 is his second-highest ODI score. His highest score is 158, which he scored against England in 2021. 

151 - Babar Azam's 151 is the highest score by a batter in Multan Cricket Stadium, surpassing the previous highest score of 127 by Shai Hope against Pakistan in 2022 

151 - Babar Azam's 151 is the highest score by a captain in the Asia Cup, surpassing the previous highest score 0f 136 by Virat Kohli against Bangladesh in 2014. 

151 - Babar Azam is the second player to score 150 in the Asia Cup. Virat Kohli is the other batter to achieve this feat. 

102 - Babar Azam reached his 19th ODI century in 102 innings, the fastest by any batter to score 19 centuries in ODIs. He is followed by Hashim Amla with 104 innings and Virat Kohli with 124 innings 

85 - Sompal Kami has conceded the most runs in an innings (85) in ODIs for Nepal, surpassing his 81 runs against Papua New Guinea in 2022.

104 - Nepal's 104 is the fifth-lowest total in Asia Cup ODIs. The lowest total is 87 by Bangladesh against Pakistan in 2000. Bangladesh also holds the second and fourth-lowest totals, with 94 against Pakistan in 1986 and 99 against India in 1988. The third lowest Total was 96 by Sri Lanka against India in 1984. 

238 - Pakistan won by 238 runs, the third-largest margin win (by runs) for Pakistan in ODIs. the highest was 255 against IRE in 2016, followed by 244 vs ZIM in 2018.
 
4/27 - Shadab khan recorded his best bowling figures (4/27) in ODIs and previous best was 4/28 against Zimbabwe in 2018.