Pakistan's star all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed smashed his maiden ODI century during the Asia Cup opener against Nepal on Wednesday. The innings was key for the hosts as Pakistan's campaign got off to a less-than-ideal start, with their opening batsmen – Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq – faced early dismissals, falling at 14 and 5 runs respectively within just seven overs. Mohammad Rizwan (44), then, was dismissed in a rather bizarre run out before Agha Salman, too, fell without making a notable contribution.
Iftikhar Ahmed displayed some cracking shots right after his arrival at the crease, easing the pressure off Babar Azam who relied on rotating the strike consistently. The 32-year-old continued to punish the bad deliveries, reaching his fifty in only 42 deliveries before further shifting the gears. His next fifty came in just 17 balls, as Iftikhar eventually ended with an unbeaten 109. The batter's brilliant knock, along with Babar's exquisite 151 helped Pakistan to a strong total of 342/6 in fifty overs.
Also read: Babar Azam zooms past Virat Kohli, breaks Hashim Amla's record with 19th ODI ton in PAK vs NEP Asia Cup opener
As Iftikhar reached his maiden century in the Asia Cup opener against Nepal, he also achieved a unique milestone in ODIs for Pakistan. At 32 years and 361 days, Iftikhar is the second-oldest Pakistan player to register a maiden century in the fifty-over format. He remains only behind the legendary Zaheer Abbas, who was aged 34 years and 146 days when he breached the three-figure mark for the first time, scoring 108 against Australia in 1981.
{{/usCountry}}As Iftikhar reached his maiden century in the Asia Cup opener against Nepal, he also achieved a unique milestone in ODIs for Pakistan. At 32 years and 361 days, Iftikhar is the second-oldest Pakistan player to register a maiden century in the fifty-over format. He remains only behind the legendary Zaheer Abbas, who was aged 34 years and 146 days when he breached the three-figure mark for the first time, scoring 108 against Australia in 1981.
{{/usCountry}}This was also the sixth-fastest century by a Pakistan player in ODIs. Here's the list for the same, with the number of balls faced to score a hundred indicated in the first column:
37 - Shahid Afridi vs SL, Nairobi, 1996
45 - Shahid Afridi vs IND, Kanpur, 2005
53 - Shahid Afridi vs BAN, Dambulla, 2010
61 - Sharjeel Khan vs IRE, Malahide, 2016
67 - Basit Ali vs WI, Sharjah, 1993
67 - Iftikhar Ahmed vs NEP, Multan, 2023
Iftikhar's brilliant knock comes as a boost to Pakistan, whose batting performances came under scanner despite a 3-0 clean-sweep win over Afghanistan last week. Batting first on two occasions throughout the series, Pakistan had failed to breach the 300-run mark and had chased down a 302-target with a wicket remaining in the other game.
Following the game against Nepal, Pakistan will meet arch-rivals India in an electrifying Asia Cup clash in Kandy.