Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2023 campaign got off to a brilliant start on Wednesday (August 30) as they thrashed Nepal by 238 runs at Multan Cricket Stadium.

Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmad played a key role with the bat in Pakistan’s win. While the Pakistan captain slammed 151 off 131 balls en route to his 19th ODI ton, Iftikhar scored his maiden hundred (109* off 71 balls) in the 50-over format.

Riding on their dazzling centuries, the Men in Green racked a mammoth 342/6 on the board before the bowlers bundled out Nepal for 104.

After the game, Iftikhar, who is commonly referred as "chacha" (uncle) by his teammates and fans, came to address a press conference.

During the post-match presser, a journalist asked Iftikhar about his partnership with Babar and also termed the latter as former’s "bhatija" (nephew).

This drew a hilarious response from Iftikhar as he said: "Bhatija also gave confidence to chacha and chacha also gave confidence to bhatija. Babar is a world-class player. The way he handles strike rotation alleviates pressure. Consequently, we relished our time batting together."

Brimming with confidence after their thumping win over Nepal, Pakistan will next face arch-rivals India in Pallekele on September 2.