Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan vs Nepal 2023 Highlights: Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed hit centuries to take Pakistan to 342 in 50 overs. Shadab Khan led bowlers to bowl Nepal out for 104 to win by 238 runs
Premier India spinner R Ashwin feels Pakistan will be the side to beat in Asia Cup and consistent performances from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will make them even more dangerous in the continental event. Terming both Pakistan and India as a favourites for the Asian title, Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, "If Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan consistently dish out performances with the bat, Pakistan will be one hell of a team heading into this Asia Cup and the World Cup. "It will take some beating since Pakistan is an extraordinary team." Pakistan face Nepal in the tournament opener on Wednesday before taking on India in the much awaited clash on September 2. The Men in Blue have won the last three meetings against Pakistan in ODIs. Ashwin feels the depth in Pakistan squad makes them serious contenders for Asia Cup and subsequent World Cup. "It is all down to their (Pakistan's) squad depth. Pakistan has invariably developed exceptional cricketers. "Thanks to its tape-ball cri
Asia Cup 2023 will mark the return of the ODI format, preceding the 50-over World Cup. Check squads of all six teams, key players to watch out here
Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel has asserted that his team is capable of being competitive against hosts Pakistan and India in the 2023 Asia Cup, starting tomorrow. The Nepal team is all set to make their Asia Cup debut, having been clubbed in Group A alongside the hosts and India. "We are playing for the first time, and it's a big achievement for all of us. Pakistan is a very good side, and we want to give a competitive game to them, as well as India. So, we deserve to be here," cited Paudel during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. When asked about the biggest difference between his side and the Pakistanis, he said that barring experience, there is not much difference between the two sides. "The difference would be the experience. If you count on skills, both batting and bowling are the same (for both sides). But, if you count on experience, Pakistan is an experienced side." "Both the teams have world-class bowlers and batsmen. Our focus is to win one ball (at a time), regard
Pakistan captain Babar Azam doesn't want to make a hue and cry about 'Hybrid Model' of hosting the Asia Cup but felt that it would have been nice to have hosted the marquee tournament in his country in its entirety. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have hosting rights for the Asia Cup but the Asian Cricket Council headed by Jay Shah opted for 'Hybrid Model' where Sri Lanka became the co-hosts after it was clear that Indian cricket team won't travel to Pakistan. "If you ask me, it would have been good if the whole tournament would have been held in Pakistan but unfortunately nothing can be done about it," Pakistan skipper Babar said at the pre-tournament media conference ahead of the opening match against minnows Nepal. Pakistan start on Wednesday (Aug 30) against Nepal in Multan and then fly to Sri Lanka the very next day for the big ticket clash against India at Pallekele on September 2. Within 24 hours (September 3), they are back in Lahore for their Super Four game on September 6
Pakistan will begin their campaign in the Asia Cup on Wednesday taking on Nepal in the city's sweltering heat as multi-team international cricket returns to the country after nearly 15 years. It has been a long, rough road for Pakistan cricket ever since the militant attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March, 2009. Following the attack, not only did Pakistan lose the Champions Trophy hosting rights but also its share of the World Cup matches in 2011. With the International Cricket Council (ICC) and member nations reluctant to visit the country because of security reasons, Pakistan went without an international game at home for nearly eight years against top-tier teams. Which is why, the four matches of the Asia Cup being held in the country hold great significance for Pakistan, who have also been awarded the 2025 Champions Trophy. Pakistan, who recently rose to No. 1 in ODI rankings after a clean sweep of the ODI series against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka, should win comfortab
Team India coach Rahul Dravid said at a press conference here that KL is progressing well from the niggle he picked after recovering from his injury and will be under NCA supervision till September 4
Will Indian openers survive Shaheen Afridi's opening spell or whether Kuldeep Yadav spins the web around Babar Azam once again? Here are the top battles to watch out for in Asia Cup 2023
It would be hard to guess that no Indian bowler features in the list of top-five wicket-takers in the history of the Asia Cup. Harder would be to believe that there is no Pakistani pacer on the list
This Asia Cup will see many youngsters face the test of international cricket in a multi-lateral ODI format, having shone in their bilateral and league matches so far. But few are primed to shine
Shadab Khan said that whether or not Virat Kohli will handle all Pakistan bowlers, will be decided on match day in the Asia Cup 2023
India-Pakistan rivalries have been fierce and the Asia Cup is no stranger to it. From Harbhajan Singh-Shoaib Akhtar's fight to Virat Kohli's heroics, it contains everything in it
Following their 3-0 ODI series sweep over Afghanistan on Saturday, Pakistan sealed the top spot in the ODI rankings
The deadlock between the Pakistan Cricket Board and the national team players over the signing of new central contracts is yet to be resolved ahead of the all-important Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A well-informed insider in the board on Saturday confirmed that there were still a number of issues to be sorted out and at one stage senior pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi had refused to sign the new central contract after the PCB denied him an NOC for the Emirates T20 International League. Shaheen got so frustrated at the board's refusal to issue him an NOC that he made it clear it would be best if he didn't sign any contract with the board and played as a freelancer, the insider said. The board then averted a similar situation with some other players by agreeing to issue NOCs for the Emirates League to be held in January-February. Shaheen has secured an USD 400,000 contract for two or three years and an additional USD 150,000 for the league by marketing his NFTs online. The insider
Asia Cup 2023 will be played in a 50-over format. Pakistan will host 4 matches, one in Multan and the other three in Lahore and Sri Lanka will host 9 matches
From India, none among Dhoni, Sehwag or Virat feature in the list of the top five run-getters in the history of the Asia Cup. Then who leads the chart? It's not Sachin by the way
Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf grabbed 5-18 as Afghanistan succumbed to a 142-run loss in their one-day international on Tuesday. After bowling out Pakistan for 201 on a tricky, slow pitch, Afghanistan was all out at 59-9 in less than 20 overs. Afghanistan suffered its second lowest ODI total. Shaheen Shah Afridi rattled Afghanistan's top order with the wickets of Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah off successive deliveries in his second over, then Shadab Khan took a brilliant catch of captain Hashmatullah Shahidi that left Afghanistan limping at 3-4. Rauf's fiery pace and swing then routed the middle order. Only Rahmanullah Gurbaz (18) and Azmatullah Omarzai (16), who retired hurt, reached double figures for the Afghans before Rauf claimed the last wicket and fell to his knees following the best figures of his ODI career. The spell of Haris was game-changing, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said. We just wanted to bowl as many dot balls as possible and hit hard lengths in the powerplay.
Hyderabad Cricket Association has alerted BCCI about the challenges that have risen due to late changes in the World Cup 2023 schedule
: Pakistani players are reluctant to sign a long-term central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after differences over sale of licensed digital rights of players between the two parties. Though the last set of central contracts of the players expired on June 30, the PCB has so far not been able to convince them to sign the new contracts. The Pakistan squad has already reached Sri Lanka for their One-Day series against Afghanistan and for the subsequent Asia Cup. A reliable source close to the players said the dispute centered around the demand of the players for a bigger share and say in the sale of their digital rights, handled by the board. The players' point of view is that other cricket boards either are not involved in the sale of players digital rights / NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) or have a proper agreement with them on the sharing of revenues from this avenue, the source said. He said with companies like Rario headed by two Singapore-based Indians or Dream Spor
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif believes that Asian teams including Pakistan and India will find it tough to match the power hitting skills of other teams in the upcoming ODI World Cup. In an interview to the Cricket Baaz Youtube channel on Wednesday, Latif said the likes of England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa would bring something new with their approach in the 50-over showpiece scheduled in India from October 5-November 19. The one area where I feel Asian teams will struggle to match these sides are particularly in the middle overs when a fast strike rate is required even in 50-overs, said the former wicket-keeper batter. "The English, Australian and New Zealand batters have turned to reverse sweep and switch shots against the spinners into something very lethal nowadays. He also noted that England in particular were also well versed in using their spinners in the middle overs. A bowler like Adil Rashid or someone like Moeen Ali buy their wickets whereas our ..