CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – India won the toss and elected to field in their 2023 Asia Cup Limited Overs Cricket Tournament Group ‘A’ clash against Nepal at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy on Monday.
This is a historic occasion for Nepal as they will be playing against their Asian rivals for the first time in international cricket. It’s a big moment for the Associate Nation.
Nepal, who are making their Asia Cup debut started off on a good note against Pakistan in the tournament opener and match will give them another opportunity to play against a cricketing giant.
In contrast, India will start the match as overwhelming favourites after a good batting performance against their arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday at the same venue.
India were rocked early by the Pakistani pacers, but they recovered from 66 for four to finish on 266 – thanks to fighting half centuries from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya.
“We are going to bowl first. No particular reason. We batted in the last game. We want to see what the bowlers have in offer for us, India Captain Rohit Sharma said at the toss.
“I don’t know about the weather. We just want to have the bowlers to have a game under their belt. The way we batted under pressure, Hardik and Ishan batted brilliantly.”
“Ishan showed a lot of maturity and took the game on as well. Good signs for us. It’s another important game for us. One change. Bumrah is not available, we’ve got Shami in,” he added.
Meanwhile, Nepal Captain Rohit Paudel said: “We were looking to bowl as well due to the overhead conditions. Today is the biggest day for Nepal cricket. Great opportunity for us. One change, in place of Aarif Sheikh, Bhim Sharki comes in.”
The teams:
Nepal (Playing XI): Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Rohit Paudel (Captain), Bhim Sharki, Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC and Lalit Rajbanshi.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
Umpires: Paul Wilson (Australia) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (Sri Lanka).
Television Umpire: Richard Illingworth (England).
Reserve Umpire: Jayaraman Madanagopal (India).
Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (India).
