Preview: All eyes will be on the weather in Pallekele as Rohit Sharma-led India take on Rohit Paudel’s Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup Group A match on Monday.
India’s first game against arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue on Saturday was washed out due to rain, with Pakistan’s run-chase failing to even take off.
The Men in Blue will have to sort out a few issues before it’s too late. Firstly, it’s the top-order batters who let the team down against Pakistan. Rohit Sharma (11), Shubman Gill (10) and Virat Kohli (4) all walked back to the pavilion without making much of an impact, while it was a forgettable comeback for Shreyas Iyer (14) with the bat.
However, it was an inspired comeback from Ishan Kishan (82) and Hardik Pandya (87) that took India to 266 from being 66/4 at one stage. The two forged 138 runs for the fifth wicket, but despite that being a silver lining in the match, questions remain over the top and middle-order batters’ consistency.
India’s bowlers, as a result of the washout, could not be tested against Pakistan.
Team news from the India camp is that Jasprit Bumrah had flown back to Mumbai on Sunday. On Monday, it was revealed that Bumrah and his wife Sanjana Ganesan had become parents of a baby boy. Bumrah, though, is expected to return to Sri Lanka if India qualify for the Super Fours.
In Bumrah’s absence, Mohammed Shami could replace him with Prasidh Krishna also in the fray. Shami did not play in India’s game against Pakistan.
Nepal, meanwhile, will hope to put up an improved batting performance after they crumbled under pressure to be dismissed for 104 against Pakistan, while looking to chase a target of 343. Sompal Kami (28) and Aarif Sheikh (26) were the only batters who got sizeable runs on board as seven of their batters were dismissed for single figures.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Bhim Sharki, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sundeep Jora, Pratis GC, Arjun Saud, Mousom Dhakal, Kishore Mahato, Aarif Sheikh
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