Nepal posted a valiant 230 runs against India before running out of wickets in the Asia Cup encounter in Pallekele on Monday.
Nepal kicked off the proceeding on a strong note as openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh added 65 runs for the opening wicket before Shardul Thakur removed Bhurtel for 38(25). Soon after his dismissal, Ravindra Jadeja joined the party and led India’s fightback. Jadeja scalped three wickets, while Mohammed Siraj chipped in with three more.
Aasif emerged as the standout batter from the Nepal camp, as he became the first from his country to slam a half-century against India. The opener scored 58(97) before getting out to Siraj in the 30th over. Sompal Kami also showed some good intent and added 48(56) to Nepal’s total before getting out to Mohammad Shami in the 47th over.
Team India showed an impressive bowling performance as Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj scalped three wickets each while Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya claimed 1 wicket each.
It’s a do-or-die situation for both India and Nepal, as a defeat for either would mean packing their bags and heading home. Pakistan have already qualified for Super 4 with 3 points, while India currently stand second with 1 point, and Nepal are yet to open their account.
IND vs NEP, Asia Cup 2023 Playing XIs:
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh(w), Rohit Paudel(c), Bhim Sharki, Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
