India won their final group stage match against Nepal in the ongoing Asia Cup to enter the Super Four stage of the tournament on Monday, September 4. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill guided the team to a ten-wicket victory in a rain-interrupted fixture in Pallekele, Sri Lanka.
The Men in Blue had a shaky start in the first innings, dropping three catches in the first five overs. The opponents found boundaries in quick succession creating a pressure on the Indian bowlers. However, the Indian bowling struck bringing the score to 144/6, but Nepal's Sompal Kami kept up the pressure knocking 48 off just 56 balls to push the score past 200.
Nepal put on a score of 230 at the end of the first innings with Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj picking up three wickets each for India. In the second innings, the Indian openers were just gaining momentum, when heavy rains delayed action on the field for over two hours. With India having made 17 for no loss in 2.1 overs, the new target was set at 145 in 23 overs as per DLS method when the game resumed.
With the help of Rohit Sharma's boundary hitting and Shubhman Gill's steady batting, India easily defeated Nepal and advanced to the next round of the tournament. They will next face Pakistan on September 10 before meeting the two teams that qualify from Group B.
"When we came here we knew what our World Cup 15 was going to be like, the Asia Cup was not going to give us a picture because it was only two games. But luckily we got to bat in the first game and bowl in this game, which made it a complete game for us. A lot of guys coming back from injuries and they need time to get back into the groove, we do understand that. Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan were very good in the last game to get us to that score against Pakistan. The bowling was okay today but the fielding was below par, we need to improve on that and look into it," Sharma said in the post-match presentation.
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