Asia Cup: Nepal praised despite losing to India
Even after losing the game, Nepal was praised.
KATHMANDU: In the Asia Cup, Nepal was defeated by India by ten wickets. Nepal’s quest has ended in the group stage as a result of this defeat. Nepal would have advanced past the group stage if they had won this match, whereas India would have been eliminated.
Nepal lost both games and was eliminated without a point. Pakistan won Group A and India advanced to the Super Four. India accomplished the winning target of 145 runs in 20.1 overs without losing a wicket. Rohit Sharma was undefeated on 74 runs off 59 balls with six fours and five sixes in India’s victory. Shubman Gill finished unbeaten with 67 runs off 62 balls, including eight fours and one six.
Nepal provided Indian captain Rohit Sharma with 16 runs. Gulshan got to leave Jha at short deep square leg on the fifth ball of the seventh over when he hit Sandeep Lamichhane.
Chasing Nepal’s victory target of 231 runs, India scored 17 runs in 2.1 overs when the match was called off owing to rain. India achieved a winning target of 145 runs in 23 overs after more than two hours of play.
Previously, Nepal lost the toss and were invited to bat first at Sri Lanka’s Palekele International Cricket Stadium, where they were bowled out for 230 runs in 48.2 overs.
Nepal played India for the first time after 27 years of international cricket matches and performed admirably. Nepal’s opening batsman, Asif Shaikh, scored the most runs with 58.
He scored the most runs (58 in 97 balls) with the help of eight fours. He was also the first Nepalese player to score a half-century in the Asia Cup and against India. Similarly, Kushal Bhurtel, another opening batter, was removed after scoring 38 runs.
He scored 38 runs in 25 balls with the help of 3 fours and 2 sixes before being dismissed in the fifth ball of the tenth over by Shardul Thakur. He got Nepal off to a solid start by scoring 65 runs in 9.5 overs alongside Aasif Sheikh.
Nepal continued to lose wickets after returning to Bhurtel Pavilion. Ravindra Jadeja of India dismissed captain Rohit Paudel for five runs. As the fourth wicket, Kushal Malla got out for two runs. Bhim Sarki was also bowled for seven runs in 16 overs by India’s Jadeja.
Similarly, Gulsan Jha returned to the pavilion as the sixth wicket, making 23 runs. He scored 23 runs off 35 balls, including three fours. Nepal lost Dipendra Singh Airi as the seventh wicket. He was dismissed after scoring 29 runs in 41.1 overs.
He scored 29 runs in 25 balls with the help of three fours. Nepal lost Sompal Kami as the eighth wicket. Sompal was dismissed by India’s Mohammad Shami. He scored 48 runs off 56 balls with the help of two sixes and one four.
Similarly, Sandeep Lamichhane was dismissed as the ninth wicket in 47.4 overs of the game. He scored nine runs in 17 balls. Similarly, Lalit Rajvanshi was dismissed for zero runs while Karan KC remained unbeaten for two runs.
On the bowling side, India’s Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Siraj took three wickets each while Mohammad Shami, Hardik Pandeya and Shardul Thakur took one wicket each.
Appreciation of Nepal
Nepal’s victory in the historic cricket match with India was not expected. According to the Duckworth-Lewis system, Nepal also lost to India by ten wickets.
But Nepal has raised its image in world cricket by showing bold batting in the very first match against the world’s super power team India. Even after losing the game, Nepal was praised.
