PAK vs NEP: Nepal Captain’s Direct Throw Sends Imam-ul-Haq Back to Hut in Asia Cup Opener – WATCHnewsbhunt

Nepal captain Rohit Paudel lit up Asia Cup 2023 with his outstanding fielding during the opening match of tournament against Pakistan. Leading Nepal in their first match of the Asia Cup, Paudel held his nerves well and executed a sensational run-out to dismiss Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq with a direct hit. Nepal managed to put pressure Pakistan under pressure on the powerplay by dismissing both openers early. Fakhar Zaman edged the ball behind the stumps where Asif Sheikh grabbed a good catch.

While Imam was way short of crease when Paudel’s direct hit dislodged the bails at the non-striker’s end. Imam looked to steal a quick single after pushing the ball on mid-off. The southpaw went for a dive to save his wicket but he was almost out of the frame. He departed for 5 as Pakistan lost their openers for just 21.

Also Read: Pakistan vs Nepal Live Score And Updates

Pakistan, the top-ranked ODI team are the two-time Asia Cup winners and are playing against Nepal for the first time in the format. Meanwhile, Nepal are making their maiden appearance in the Asia Cup after winning the inaugural ACC Men’s Premier Cup earlier this year.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam talked about becoming the number 1 ranked ODI side at the toss.

“Pitch looks very dry and shiny. No reason to name the XI earlier, we wanted to give confidence to our team. To be honest, being the top ranked team brings a good kind of pressure, we’ll try to enjoy and do our best,” said Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.

Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said everyone is happy on playing their first Asia Cup game. “Everyone in Nepal is really excited for this game. Most of the things here are very similar to Nepal, looks like a beautiful wicket to bat on.”

Top two sides from Groups A and B will progress to the Super Fours, where they will play three more games at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, which will also host the final on September 17.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf

Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wicketkeeper), Rohit Paudel (captain), Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane and Lalit Rajbanshi