Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss, and opted to bat against Nepal in Asia Cup 2023 opener. Pakistan are currently the ranked one side and will enter the contest as favourites. Their skipper Babar, along with Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, and Imam-ul-Haq will be leading the batting front. Nepal will face another stern test against the pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah.
For opponents Nepal, their maiden qualification to the Asia Cup in itself represents a massive triumph. They gained ODI status only in 2018, and since then their rise in this format has been meteoric. They boast of series wins over USA and Netherlands, and more recently they beat UAE to book their spot for the Asia Cup in the ACC Premier Cup Final. 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.
