CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – India pulled off a resounding 10-wicket win over Nepal on the Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) method in their 2023 Asia Cup Limited Overs Cricket Tournament rain-hit Group ‘A’ match played at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy on Monday.
After having restricted their opponents to 230 runs in 48.2 Overs, the India openers, Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill set about their run chase in style to reach their revised victory target with 17 balls to spare.
India were handed a revised victory target of 145 runs in 23 overs under the DLS scoring method following a long interruption due to rain and a wet outfield.
Rohit led the way with an aggressive 74 not out from just 59 deliveries inclusive of five sixes and six boundaries while his partner Gill struck an unbeaten 67 from 62 balls studded with one six and eight boundaries.
India were 17 for no loss in 2.1 overs when the match was initially halted for bad weather and the game finally recommenced shortly after 10.00 p.m. local time with a revised target.
Earlier, Nepal put up a decent batting performance to post a modest 230 runs and batted almost the full 50 overs after they were invited to bat first.
The openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh took advantage of some fielding lapses as they posted a 65-run stand from 9.5 overs with the latter completing a splendid half century with eight boundaries.
There was a middle order collapse for Nepal as Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja struck a couple of crucial blows before they recovered back through the seventh-wicket pair of Dipendra Singh and Sompal Kami.
But Nepal’s hopes of putting up a total of over 250 runs was dashed when they lost the last three wickets inside six deliveries for the addition of just two runs.
This was a historic occasion for Nepal as they were playing against their Asian rivals for the first time in international cricket and it was certainly a big moment for the Associate Nation.
Chief scores:
Nepal: 230 in 48.2 overs (Kushal Bhurtel 38, Aasif Sheikh 58, Gulsan Jha 23, Dipendra Singh 29, Sompal Kami 48, Mohammed Siraj 3/61, Ravindra Jadeja 3/40)
India: 147/0 in 20.1 overs (Rohit Sharma 74 n.o, Shubman Gill 67 n.o).
