Babar Azam's century sets record in Asia Cup 2023 Opener against Nepal

Multan: Pakistan's captain, Babar Azam, displayed an impressive performance by scoring a century, reaching 100 runs off 109 balls, during the opening match of the Asia Cup 2023 against Nepal.

Babar Azam showcased his batting prowess, demonstrating resilience on the pitch even as wickets fell in the early stages.

Century No.1️⃣9️⃣ for the top-ranked ODI batter ?

Excellent knock from the ?? captain ?#PAKvNEP | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/QqfeGakZyO

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 30, 2023

Iftikhar Ahmed also contributed to Pakistan's stability. The Nepalese bowling attack posed significant challenges to the Pakistani players; however, the visitors struggled on the fielding side.

This century marked Babar Azam's 19th in One Day Internationals (#ODIs), and remarkably, he achieved this milestone in the fewest number of innings compared to any other batsman:

Fastest to 19 ODI Centuries (innings)

102 BABAR AZAM*

104 Hashim Amla

124 Virat Kohli

139 David Warner

171 AB de Villiers

181 – Rohit Sharma

It's worth noting that Pakistan, having won the toss and chosen to bat, had scored 237 for four in the 43rd over of the match. Nepal, making their debut in the Asia Cup, reached this stage by triumphing in the ten-team ACC Premier Cup held in April-May. This victory positioned them ahead of teams like UAE and Hong Kong, both of which have previously participated in the Asia Cup.

This match also marked the first encounter between Nepal and Pakistan in any format of international cricket.

Pakistan: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Agha Salman, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Haris Rauf

Nepal: 1 Kushal Bhurtel, 2 Aasif Sheikh (wk), 3 Rohit Paudel (capt), 4 Aarif Sheikh, 5 Kushal Malla, 6 Dipendra Singh Airee, 7 Gulsan Jha, 8 Sompal Kami, 9 Karan KC, 10 Sandeep Lamichhane, 11 Lalit Rajbanshi