Skipper Babar Azam hit a delightful 151 while Iftikhar Ahmed smashed his maiden ODI century as Pakistan thrashed minnows Nepal by 238 runs in the opening match of the Asia Cup, here on Wednesday. Babar and Iftikhar played pivotal roles in powering Pakistan to 342 for six after opting to bat. Babar (151 off 130) was involved in two crucial partnerships after a sedate start.

The skipper stitched  86 runs with Mohammad Rizwan (44 off 50) and then sharing a whirlwind 214 runs for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar (109 not out off 71 balls) — to take Pakistan to an imposing total. Apart from that brief resistance by Aarif Sheikh and Sompal Kami, there was really no challenge from Nepal after Pakistan scored 342/6. Shaheen Shah Afridi struck twice in the first over jolting the run chase. Shadab Khan claimed 4/27 from his 6.4 overs while Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf bowled impressive spells. Aarif Sheikh (26) and Sompal Kami (28) tried to delay the inevitable but Nepal were bundled out in only 23.4 overs