Big image – a large event for Nepal
Nepal are making their Asia Cup debut. They are assembly Pakistan for the primary time in any format. It’s a large event for them, a day of celebration regardless of how issues pan out on the sphere.
Having solely gained ODI standing in 2018, Nepal at the moment are ranked a tantalising fifteenth within the format, an indication of how shut they’re to attaining even greater goals provided that the following ODI World Cup, in 2027, will function 14 groups.
Pakistan, in the meantime, are enjoying what’s more likely to be one in every of simply two residence video games in a event they’re technically internet hosting. Such are the instances we reside in. Fans in Multan, then, could be effectively suggested to courageous the temperatures (the forecast is for a most of 38-degrees Celsius) and catch this uncommon glimpse of their heroes.
Form information
Pakistan WWWLW (final 5 accomplished ODIs, most up-to-date first)
Nepal LWLLW
In the highlight
After years of being overdependent on their high three, Pakistan are starting to place collectively a promising ODI center order, and lots of the credit score for this should go to Agha Salman, who has a 40-plus common and a 100-plus strike fee after his first 14 video games. He has been in a wealthy vein of kind over current months – he adopted a wonderful residence ODI collection towards New Zealand with aggressive Test knocks of 83 and 132* on the tour of Sri Lanka, and he comes into the Asia Cup on the again of an important unbeaten 38 to finish an in any other case quiet collection towards Afghanistan on a optimistic observe.
Team news
Pakistan have an issue of a lot within the allrounder division, and will have to depart out Faheem Ashraf or Mohammad Nawaz – or each – in the event that they wish to slot in Mohammad Wasim, who took a four-wicket haul for Pakistan A towards Nepal in the course of the Emerging Cup in July.
Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Agha Salman, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Faheem Ashraf/Mohammad Nawaz/Mohammad Wasim, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Haris Rauf
Nepal (possible): 1 Kushal Bhurtel, 2 Aasif Sheikh (wk), 3 Bhim Sharki, 4 Rohit Paudel (capt), 5 Kushal Malla, 6 Dipendra Singh Airee, 7 Gulsan Jha, 8 Sompal Kami, 9 Karan KC, 10 Sandeep Lamichhane, 11 Lalit Rajbanshi
Pitch and circumstances
Multan hosted all three ODIs throughout West Indies’ tour of Pakistan final yr. All three matches produced 250-plus first-innings scores, with Pakistan chasing down 306 within the first ODI. The top-three wicket-takers in that collection have been Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan and Akeal Hosein, and if circumstances play equally, spinners can count on to play a big function once more. The climate is anticipated to be sizzling and dry, with temperatures reaching the excessive 30s (Celsius).
Source web site: www.espncricinfo.com
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