Pakistan vs Nepal, Asia Cup 2023 Highlights: PAK beat NEP by 238 runs

Rizwan sends a full toss from Rajbanshi behind square leg. He went one-handed to nail the sweep and adds four more to his total. Rizwan moves to 36 off 42, Babar is 35 off 52. Pakistan getting a move on in the middle overs.

Dipendra Singh Airee sends the ball in at a length, Babar goes deep in his crease and steers it wide of slip for four.

Babar moves to 24 off 32 balls, Rizwan on 26 off 32. A game of chess at the moment between the two sides. Nepal have been sharp in the field and kept the scoring rate down but Babar and Rizwan don't seem to to be extremely disturbed by that. 

Pakistan are 65/2 in 14 overs. Rizwan is on 24 off 28, Babar on 16 off 24. Just to conclude what has happened thus far, Fakhar Zaman got Pakistan off to a fairly good start before Nepal did a quick one-two on the openers. Babar and Rizwan have looked largely unperturbed though. There is still a mountain to climb for Nepal to engineer an upset here. 

Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal's star player and the subject of much controversy off late, comes in for his first over of the match. He will bowl to Rizwan, who is on 17 off 21, Babar at the other end on 14 off 19.

The first ball from Lalit Rajbanshi was a no-ball. Rizwan manages to drag the free hit delivery behind square for four.

Pakistan are 38/2 in 9 overs. Babar is on 12 off 13 and Rizwan on two off eight. They are taking their own time here but that is all they need to do really. Pakistan would be very keen to not start off a tournament they are hosting with a defeat to an associate team. 

Captain Babar and the team's de facto vice captain Mohammad Rizwan are in. Pakistan suddenly have a rebuild job on their hands. What a start this is for Nepal. 

What a period this is turning out to be for Nepal! Imam plays the first ball of the sixth towards mid-off. The fielder there collects the ball and nails the throw, Imam starts walking off even before the replays could be played.

Imam-ul-Haq run out (Paudel) 5 (14), Pakistan 25/2 in 6.1 overs

Karan KC with a brilliant delivery angling across, Fakhar throws his hands at it and edges it to the wicketkeeper who takes a strong catch diving to his left.

Zaman c Aasif Sheikh b Karan KC 14 (20), Pakistan 21/1 in 5.3 Overs

Imam got off the mark in the with a single off the previous ball and then Fakhar stays leg side of a full delivery, drives it through cover and point. Third boundary already, he has reached 14 off 15.

Fakhar Zaman has done all the scoring, with the exception of a wide ball from Karan KC.

We can see a good number of Nepal supporters have traveled to Pakistan to witness the historic moment. 

- Nepal and Pakistan are meeting for the first time in the cricket field

- Nepal are also making their Asia Cup debut

Two boundaries and a single as nine runs come in the first over, all from Fakhar Zaman's bat. 

Karan KC comes to bowl the second over with Fakhar once again on strike. PAK: 9/0 (1 over)

Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq walk out to kick-off the proceedings. 

Sompal Kami opens the attack for Nepal and he bowls at length, drifting towards the leg stump, which is pushed behind the wicket towards fine leg for a boundary. 

The second ball is a dot and he then bowls it full, which is well picked and flicked towards mid-wicket for another boundary. PAK: 8/0 (0.3 overs)

“When you come to Multan, you realise the pitches are heavily titled towards the batter. It is nicely rolled, hard and dry, Ball will come onto the bat nicely. For the spinners, it might turn a bit but they have to make the most by adjusting their bounce. It might swing a bit under lights, but overall looks like a really good batting surface.”

“Everyone is very happy, it is our first game in the Asia Cup. 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.” - Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel at toss.

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

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

Pakistan have won the toss and have opted to bat

A glimpse of Pakistan's training session a day before of the match.

Pakistan top-order batters Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam have enjoyed playing at the venue. Imam in fact has been the better between the two, averaging 66.33 at the venue, while Babar averages 60.33.

If we look at the Pakistan line-up it appears well covered at both departments. Now all they will hope for is a big win to build some confidence ahead of the much anticipated clash against India. 

Sandeep Lamichhane is the bowler to watch out from Nepal. Given Multan's history, Lamichhane can prove to be a lethal option. He is heading into the tournament after rich exploits in previous outings, which adds up to 42 scalps in this year. It is also the most by any bowler in this format.

Nepal qualified for the continental tournament after a splendid show in the inaugural ACC Men's Premier Cup earlier this year. They won the tournament by beating UAE in the final, which then helped them qualify for the tournament. 

On Wednesday Nepal will play their first-ever Asia Cup fixture.

A tough challenge awaits for Nepal as Pakistan field their strongest XI.