Shubman Gill (67 not out) and Rohit Sharma (74 not out) shared an undefeated stand of 147 for the opening wicket as India sealed a thumping 10-wicket win over Nepal to qualify for the Super 4s of the Asia Cup 2023. In what turned out to be a truncated game, India chased down the revised target of 145 (23 overs) with 17 balls remaining.
Incidentally, just before the rain break, Karan KC had given Rohit a few scares, beating the outside edge and also rapping him on the pads a couple of times. Nepal even placed their belief in the review for an LBW appeal against Rohit, but replays showed it would have missed the leg stump. At that juncture, there was a lengthy spell of rain.
When play resumed, Gill and Rohit took the aggressive route. The way Gill danced down the deck to loft Sandeep Lamichhane straight down the ground was perhaps the highlight of the early exchanges. In the 12th over, Rohit went one better with a wristy flick off Dipendra Singh Airee.
Perhaps in sheer desperation, Nepal took one more review against Rohit, but once more the ball-tracker showed that it would have missed the leg stump. Eventually, Gill provided the finishing touches with a boundary off Gulsan Jha.
Earlier, Nepal had put on a spirited show with the bat. After being inserted into bat, Kushal Bhurtel took on the Indian seamers and finished with a rollicking 25-ball 38. Meanwhile, Aasif Sheikh (58) played with a degree of caution. He also showcased his wrist work by playing a few eye-catching shots through the on side.
It was Shardul Thakur who made the initial incision by forcing Bhurtel to edge one behind. Ravindra Jadeja then took over by running through the batting unit. Nepal, however, have enough depth in the batting order. The likes of Airee, Sompal Kami (48 runs) and Gulsan added useful runs to pilot Nepal to a respectable score. Meanwhile, the Indian think-tank wouldn’t be pleased with the fielding effort – three catches were dropped, alongside a few misfields.
Mohammed Siraj, who came in for some severe punishment in the first few overs, bounced back strongly and took a 3 for 61. Jadeja also made his presence felt with a three-for.
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