India easily defeated Nepal by a margin of 10 wickets to clinch a spot in the Super Four of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. First-inning bowlers Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj each claimed three wickets, limiting Nepal to 230 runs. Aasif Sheikh and Sompal Kami shown great steadiness with the bat, which will boost their confidence moving forward.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, whose outstanding opening performances included half-centuries for each of them, won the run chase in Pallekele. India easily won thanks to hits from Gill and Rohit, who both struck 67s.
Talking points from India and Nepal’s fifth game:
Indian opening act
Both Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were criticized for their lack of impact in the most recent game against Pakistan. However, both players put up a stunning performance against Nepal, as India was able to win the game by 10 wickets.
The three wickets Jadeja took
Ravindra Jadeja, a master of spin, took three wickets to destroy Nepal’s middle order. The performance will undoubtedly give him more confidence heading into the Super Four and, more significantly, the ODI World Cup.
Numerous advantages for Nepal
Nepal doesn’t really get many opportunities to play against the big boys because they are ranked 15th in ODI cricket. Thus, their victories over Pakistan and India will boost their confidence greatly. Aasif Sheikh and Sompal Kami played some outstanding cricket against India, which has several advantages for the team.
Rohit Paudel, the outgoing captain, said:
The openers did a good job for us, the middle order could have done better, we were 30 runs short and if the middle order had done well then we could have reached 260-270. Our lower order has been doing a great job and contributing in the last 4-5 months. The conditions were really hard but our bowlers bowled well as the ball was not gripping.
Rohit Sharma, the POTM-winning captain, said:
Not really, some nerves to start with but once I got my eye in wanted to get the team home. That was not intentional, I wanted to chip it over square leg but the bats these days are so good. When we came here we knew what our WC 15 is going to be like, the Asia Cup was not going to give us a picture because it was only two games.
But luckily we got to bat in the first game and bowl in this game, that made it a complete game for us. Stil have a lot to work on. Lot of guys coming back from injuries and they need time to get back into the groove. Hardik and Ishan was very good in the last game to get us to that score. The bowling was okay but the fielding was bad, we need to improve on that.
India
