Sports Bulletin Report
MULTAN: World number 1 One Day International (ODI) Pakistan will take on low-ranked Nepal in the day & night inaugural contest of the Asia Cricket Cup 2023 here at Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday (August 30) a 50 overs per innings fixture. This will be a maiden contest between Pakistan and Nepal at the top level.
The atmosphere in the picturesque Multan Cricket Stadium promises to be electrifying for the Wednesday clash. Both teams will receive tremendous support from the cricket-loving Multan fans. The fans will be treated with an absorbing opening ceremony before the match, which begins at 1430 PKT time.
Pakistan’s last outing in Multan in the format was in June last year and the home side enjoyed resounding success over the West Indies by thrashing them 3-0 in the three-match series. The team has played 10 ODIs here and won seven.
Pakistan enter the Asia Cup with momentum on their side. They topped the ICC rankings for ODI teams on Saturday after securing a 3-0 whitewash over Afghanistan in Sri Lanka. This is the second instance of the team surmounting the chart since April. Pakistan also boast the best win/loss ratio of 2.750 with 22 wins in 31 matches since in this World Cup cycle.
The team has enjoyed success across formats at home and away recently. In April-May, they levelled the T20 International series 2-2 and won the five-match ODI series 4-1 against New Zealand, whitewashed Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in the two-Test series in July and defeated Afghanistan 3-0 in ODIs in Sri Lanka this month.
Pakistan will fly to Sri Lanka on 31 August to play India in the second Group-A match on 2 September at Kandy. The venue will also host the third and final match of the group between India and Nepal on 4 September.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Usama Mir. Traveling reserve: Tayyab Tahir
