Nepal’s medal hope from Cricket in the Asian Games has been shattered after a defeat against India in the quarterfinal match. India defeated Nepal by 23 runs at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field to secure a spot in the semifinal.
Chasing a huge target of 203 runs, Nepal managed 179/9 runs at the end of the allotted 20 overs. Nepal lost Aasif Sheikh as the first wicket in the fourth over. Kushal Bhurtel scored a sluggish 28 (from 32 balls) and was the second man to depart.
Kushal Malla (29 runs) and Rohit Paudel (3) were dismissed by Ravi Bishnoi in the same over. Dipendra Singh Airee smacked three consecutive sixes against Shivam Dube and brought back Nepal into the contest. He notched up 32 from 15 balls before being dismissed by Bishnoi.
Nepal needed 75 from the last five overs with five wickets in hand. Right then, Sundeep Jora was dismissed after whacking 12-ball 29 with three sixes. Karan KC scored an unbeaten 18 runs but that was not enough to win the match.
For India, Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan were the pick of a bowler as they picked up three wickets each. Arshdeep Singh grabbed three whilst Sai Kishore pocketed one.
Earlier, India posted 202/4 in 20 overs after opting to bat first. Yasasvi Jaiswal yielded a brilliant start and scored a ton. However, the Nepalese bowler did a great job in the middle overs.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad added a century stand for the first wicket. Jaiswal troubled Nepalese bowlers with big shots right from the start. Gaikwad scored 25 (from 23 balls) before being dismissed by DS Airee in the 10th over when the score was 103 runs.
Nepalese bowlers came back well in the middle overs with more couple of wickets. Tilak Varma (2) and Jitesh Sharma (5) were dismissed cheaply by Sompal Kami and Sandeep Lamichhane respectively.
Jaiswal continued playing his normal game and completed his ton in 48 balls with the help of eight fours and seven sixes. He was dismissed by Airee in the next over, right after completing his ton.
Rinku Singh did the damage for Nepal in the death over as he smacked 15-ball 37* runs with four sixes. Shivam Dube also contributed 25 runs from 19 balls.
For Nepal, Dipendra Singh Airee picked up a couple of wickets (4-0-31-2). Rohit Paudel was the bowler with a better economy after DS Airee. He conceded 26 from three overs. Sandeep Lamichhane and Sompal Kami also pocketed one wicket each.
