India vs Nepal, Asia Cup 2023: Aasif Sheikh, Sompal Kami guide Nepal to 230 in rain-interrupted contest

A gritty half-century from Aasif Sheikh (58) and valuable contributions from Kushal Bhurtel (38), Dipendra Singh (29) and Sompal Kami (48) helped Nepal post 230 against India in a rain-interrupted Asia Cup Group A game in Pallekele.

INDIA VS NEPAL LIVE SCORE

The Indian fielders were put to test against the tournament debutants, but were far from their best early on after there were three drop chances inside the first five overs. While Shreyas Iyer failed to get hold of the ball at first slip in the first over, with Bhurtel on strike, Virat Kohli put down a sitter in the very next over, where Mohammed Siraj could have dismissed Aasif Sheikh.

In the fifth over, Kishan too put down a chance off Mohammed Shami’s ball when Bhurtel was on strike.

Bhurtel and Aasif went onto forge 65 runs for the opening wicket, before Shardul Thakur removed the former in the 10^th over. Despite a good start from Nepal, regular wickets hurt their momentum and they were reduced to 134/5 inside 30 overs.

And soon after, rain came to play spoilsport but that was a short delay, and play resumed shortly. There were a couple of more rain breaks, the last of which was the longest, with play being halted for almost an hour.

Nepal were 178/6 from 37.5 overs when rain returned, with Dipendra Airee and Sompal Kami the unbeaten batters at the time.

Once play resumed, Sompal Kami continued his resistance despite losing Dipendra. He then forged a 34-run stand with Sandeep Lamichhane, before being dismissed by Shami in the 48^th over.

At that time, Nepal were 228/8, and it was just a matter of time before India wrapped up their innings for 230.

Siraj and Jadeja finished with three wickets each, while Shami, Shardul and Hardik got one each.

Brief scores: Nepal 230 all out in 48.2 overs (Aasif Sheikh 58, Sompal Kami 48; Mohammed Siraj 3/61, Ravindra Jadeja 3/40)