Pakistan vs Nepal: 1st Game Of The Asia Cup

Cricket

Pakistan vs Nepal: Pakistan and Sri Lanka are hosting the 16th edition of the Asia Cup and the first match will be played between Pakistan and Nepal. 6 teams from Asia will compete to be the champion of the continent. Pakistan have won this tournament twice and will be aiming for the third trophy as they have the home advantage. Nepal is debuting in the tournament and their first match will be a big test. Though Nepal has played excellently while qualifying for the tournament, it will be tough as they are in the same group with giants like India and Pakistan.

The 1st match of the Asia Cup 2023 between Pakistan vs Nepal will take place on August 30, 2023, at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Match Details to Note:

Match: Pakistan vs Nepal 1st ODI Asia Cup

Date: August 30th, 2023 (Wednesday)

Time: 03:00 PM IST

Venue: Multan Cricket Stadium

Pakistan vs Nepal

Pakistan (Match Odds- 1.01)

Preview

Pakistan’s last Asia Cup trophy came in 2012. Since then, including the most recent season, they have twice placed second. But they have been unable to win the tournament for more than ten years. They have a good chance of winning the championship for the third time this year because they have a great team on the pitch and they will also have home advantage.

This year, Pakistan has performed well in ODIs, winning 6 of the 9 games they have played. According to the most recent ICC rankings, they are now the second-best team in ODIs. Imam Ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Rizwan are among the team’s talented batting lineup, which is captained by the unstoppable Babar Azam.

Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, and Iftikhar Ahmed are all-rounders who bring depth to their batting and give them more alternatives for spin, which will be very advantageous on the Multan surface. The middle-order expertise of Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez will be missed in Pakistan.

Usama Mir has little international experience, hence the team is short a specialist spinner. However, it has probably the best pace attack of any team. Here, the onslaught will be led by Shaheen Shah Afridi. He has been one of the top bowlers in the month’s limited-overs matches.

As a new ball bowler, he will team up with Naseem Shah, while Haris Rauf will probably be the third seamer.

Full Squad:

Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (traveling reserve).

Players to watch out for:

Babar Azam

Babar Azam is the No. 1 ODI batsman in the world and he will continue his dominance in the Asia Cup. Playing against Nepal on the home ground will be the ideal situation for Babar to show his talent. He is the solid backbone of the Pakistani batting line-up and comes up at number 3. He has scored 5202 runs in just 101 innings which includes 18 centuries and an average above 50.

Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Afridi’s potential is truly limitless, that much is undeniable. Blessed with a quick bowling arm and a tall, gangly physique. Add to all of this his versatility as a left-arm bowler, and it becomes clear why Pakistanis are so enthralled with this individual. He is a raw talent and Pakistan will be using his full potential in the Asia Cup/

Possible Playing XI:

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan (vc), Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Imam-ul-Haq.

Nepal (Match Odds- 15.00)

Preview

Nepal had a successful run in the ACC Men’s Premier Cup in 2023, finishing first in Group A. After that, they won against Kuwait in the semifinals and UAE in the championship to earn their first-ever trip to the Asia Cup.

Nepal confronts a difficult assignment and will want to establish an early edge after being placed in the same group as Asian powers Pakistan and India.

In the previous year, Nepal played a lot of cricket and had some success. The team advanced to the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, where they competed against considerably stronger teams like the hosts and Ireland and defeated opponents like the USA and UAE.

They will now aim to improve even more during this competition. Gyanendra Malla’s retirement certainly leaves a significant gap in the batting order, but it will also give young players like Bhim Sharki and Pratis GC a chance to show how capable they are.

Along with Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel will be a crucial component at the top of the order, and Rohit Paudel, Aasif Sheikh, and Dipendra Singh Airee will add weight to the middle order. The team’s two most seasoned bowlers, Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane, will be assisted by Gulsan Jha, Kishore Mahato, and Mousom Dakal.

Full Squad:

Rohit Paudel (Captain), Kushal Bhurtel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratish GC, Mousom Dhakal, Sundeep Jora, Kishore Mahato, Arjun Saud (Wicket-keeper), Aasif Sheikh, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee (vc), Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC.

Players to watch out for:

Rohit Paudel

Rohit is one of the youngest captains of the Nepal side. He currently is the most run-scoring batsman in the team. He has played 51 innings and scored 1467 runs. He has been given a big responsibility to caption the Nepalese side who are participating in the tournament for the first time.

Sandeep Lamichhane

Sandeep is the most successful bowler from Nepal. He has 111 wickets from 49 ODI matches played so far, and he is also the first player to play IPL from Nepal. He will be bowler to watch out for.

Possible Playing XI:

Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Bhim Sharki, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sompal Kami.

Pakistan vs Nepal Head To Head:

Pakistan and Nepal have not faced each other yet. In the Asia Cup 2023, it will be the first time the teams Pakistan vs Nepal will face each other.

Pakistan vs Nepal Toss Prediction:

Teams batting first and second have an equal record on this pitch. However, batting first has resulted in victories in 3 of the last 5 games played here. Therefore, we predict that whoever wins the toss will choose to bat first in the Pakistan vs Nepal match.

Pakistan vs Nepal Pitch Report:

The Multan pitch is batting-friendly and has already hosted several high-scoring games. The first-batting team will try to achieve as close to 300 runs as they can. Faster bowlers must have good line and length control to avoid being used as bases for runs. In the second innings, the pitching surface does slow down a little bit, giving the spinners some turn.

The temperature will stay in the high 30s and there will be lots of sunshine in the match Pakistan vs Nepal.

Pakistan vs Nepal Match Prediction:

Although Nepal has recently performed well, it lacks Pakistan’s strength and expertise. It will be extremely astonishing if Nepal manages to gather any points in the first match.

We are predicting Pakistan to win the game Pakistan vs Nepal at the odds of 1.04