India vs Nepal, Asia Cup: After collapse against PAK, India top-order aims for improved show; LIVE streaming and more

India vs Nepal preview: Having collected a solitary point following their washout against Pakistan on Saturday, Team India will hope to get their first ‘W’ of the 2023 Asia Cup when they face Nepal in Pallekele on Monday.

Seven-time champions India collected their first point of the Asia Cup after their opening fixture against arch-rivals Pakistan ended in a washout. The Men in Blue were in deep trouble at one stage after skipper Rohit Sharma elected to bat, getting reduced to 66/4 thanks to yet another top-order collapse in the face of quality fast bowling from the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.

Ishan Kishan (82) and Hardik Pandya’s (87) fighting eighties and their 138-run stand for the fifth wicket ensured the Men in Blue posted a competitive total on the board and gave their bowling unit something to defend, even if they lost wickets in a heap towards the end.

Nepal, on the other hand, suffered a 238-run mauling at the hands of tournament hosts Pakistan in the tournament opener in Multan on Wednesday. The Men in Green suffered an early scare after getting reduced to 25/2 following the early exits of openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq.

It was a one-way street in favour of Pakistan from thereon, though, as skipper Babar Azam (151) and middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed (109) slammed tons to help their team post a formidable 342/6 on the board. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan then led with the ball with figures of 4/27, with Rauf (2/16) and Afridi (2/27) grabbing two wickets each as Nepal were bundled out for a meagre 104 in reply.

Thanks to the margin of their defeat, Nepal currently have the worst Net Run Rate in the six-team Asia Cup, and their upcoming fixture against India will likely be their final game of their maiden appearance in the continental event.

Monday’s fixture will also be their first match against India in any format since their cricketing journey began in the 1996 ACC Trophy. Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel relished the thought of facing another high-quality opposition in a space of a week, something that the ‘Rhinos’ aren’t used to.

“We all are very excited, especially playing against India. We didn’t get such opportunities often. So, it’s a big opportunity for all of us to represent our country on the biggest stage,” Paudel, one his country’s leading performers, told reporters on the eve of the match against India.

Stats: Nepal’s ODI journey in numbers — Top run-scorer, wicket-taker and more

Like the Indo-Pak contest on Saturday however, the upcoming fixture too faces the threat of a washout with the possibility of rain on Monday up to 80 per cent. Should India’s second game also end in a No Result, they will progress to the Super Four stage although they will finish at the second spot in Group A.

“Weather is not in our control. But we are hoping that we get an opportunity to play against India to showcase our talent on a bigger stage. Otherwise, we get to play only smaller teams.

“We never imagined that we would get a chance to play two back-to-back matches against Pakistan and India. We want to make such opportunities count so that the cricketing world can take notice of us,” added Paudel in the pre-match press conference.

Read | Lamichhane, Paudel and  Sheikh — Nepal’s top ODI performers

India, additionally, will be without the services of Jasprit Bumrah in the Nepal fixture with the leading pacer flying back to Mumbai due to personal reasons. In his absence, the Men in Blue are likely to pick Mohammed Shami — who had been benched for the game against Pakistan — as the leader of the attack.

Bumrah, however, will be back in action during the Super Fours.

While India will be aiming for a win and progress to the Super Four, the focus will be on the top-order which failed to stand up against Pakistan.

Nepal bowlers won’t be giving the same troubles and it’s an opportunity for Rohit, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli to have a good amount of time in the middle before the big games arrive.

We bring you all the details regarding live streaming the India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 match.

India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 match date

The India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 Group A match will be played on Monday, 4 September 2023.

India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 match time

The India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 Group A match will start at 3 PM IST. The toss will take place at 2.30 PM IST.

India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 match venue

The India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 match will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 match LIVE Streaming

The India vs Nepal Asia Cup 2023 match will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network and the live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.

The Asia Cup is streaming free on mobile on Disney+ Hotstar.

India vs Nepal head-to-head

This is the first time the Nepal cricket team will be playing against neighbours India in any format since their cricketing journey began in the 1996 ACC Trophy.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Bhim Sharki, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sundeep Jora, Pratis GC, Arjun Saud, Mousom Dhakal, Kishore Mahato, Aarif Sheikh