Asia Cup 2023: Pakistan reach Sri Lanka ahead of encounter with India

Pakistani team lands in Sri Lanka — SLCLess than 15 hours after playing Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023 opener, the Pakistan team arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday ahead of their encounter with India on September 2 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy.After landing at the Colombo airport, the team travelled to Kandy via bus. The squad will rest today before returning to the nets before the much-anticipated match. It must be noted that despite Pakistan being the host of the Asian event, nine of the 13 matches are being played in Sri Lanka because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send their team due to security concerns.Earlier on Wednesday (August 30), the Green Shirts outclassed Nepal in all aspects of the game and handed them a 238-run defeat.Shadab Khan took four wickets for his side for just 27 runs and was the key to the Green Shirts' big-margin victory as the visitors were all out on 104 runs.Mohammad Rizwan's blinder behind the wicket and Fakhar Zaman's stunning catch were the highlights of the second innings of the match.Shaheen Shah Afridi did what he does best as he sent two Nepali batters back to the pavilion in the first over.Earlier, Pakistan posted a massive total of 342-6 in 50 overs after winning the toss and deciding to bat first.Captain Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed led the way for Pakistan with brilliant centuries.Ahmed remained unbeaten on 109 runs in 71 balls with the help of 11 fours and four sixes.Meanwhile, Azam was dismissed after scoring 151 runs in 131 balls which included 14 fours and four sixes.Azam, 28, broke former South Africa batter Hashim Amla's record as he became the fastest player to 19 ODI centuries. He reached this feat in just 102 innings while Amla did it in his 104th.It must be noted that Babar Azam came to bat after Pakistan had an early collapse as they were 25-2 after Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq lost their wickets.The 28-year-old stood tall on the crease and formed a crucial 86-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan before the wicketkeeper batter got run out in a bizarre way. Rizwan scored 44 runs in 50 balls.After Rizwan’s wicket, Salman Agha came to bat but got out after scoring just five runs.However, Azam formed a solid partnership of 214 runs in only 131 balls with Iftikhar Ahmed. Comments Submit مضمون کا ماخذ:لاٹری ایپ کی تجزیات