PAK vs NEP, Asia Cup, Match 1: The battle for Asia's biggest cricketing crown is about to get underway as hosts Pakistan are slated to take on Nepal in the opening fixture on Wednesday, August 30 at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.
Pakistan have already announced their playing XI which gives a fair amount of indication of how confident they are about their game and sealing the tournament opener. The Babar Azam-led side is currently the top-ranked team in ODI cricket having surged past Australia recently and would look to play like a top side against their opponents in the first game.
For Nepal, it's going to be the first time they will be playing in the continental tournament but can't be taken lightly. The Rohit Paudel-led side won the ten-team ACC Men's Premier Cup in April-May to make it to this year's edition of the Asia Cup and seem well and truly capable of pulling off a surprise or two. The match will start at 3:00 PM IST and the weather is going to be hot throughout the day with the temperature ranging from 35°C to 38°C.
Multan Cricket Stadium Pitch Report
As with any other wicket in Pakistan or the Indian subcontinent, the wicket at the venue is going to be batting friendly and the pacers might have to toil hard to get purchase out of it. For the unversed, it is the same ground where India's Virender Sehwag scored his first-ever triple ton in Test cricket while playing against Pakistan.
Multan Cricket Stadium: The Numbers Game
Total ODI Matches: 10
Matches won batting first: 5
Matches won bowling first: 5
Average first innings score: 254
Average second innings score: 206
Highest total scored: 323/3 by Pakistan vs Bangladesh
Highest score chased: 306/5 by Pakistan vs West Indies
Lowest total recorded: 148 all out by Zimbabwe vs Pakistan
Lowest total defended: 272/9 by Pakistan vs Zimbabwe
Pakistan's Playing XI:
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Nepal's likely XI:
Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Bhim Sharki, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi
