Asia Cup 2023: Will rain again play spoilsport in India-Nepal encounter?

Asia Cup 2023: Will rain again play spoilsport in India-Nepal encounter?

Rain played spoilsport during the highly anticipated India vs Pakistan clash, forcing the game to be called off before Pakistan could even begin their chase of 267 runs against India. Unfortunately, there’s more disappointing news for the already disheartened fans, as the India-Nepal game of Asia Cup 2023, scheduled at the Pallekele stadium at 3 pm today, is also threatened by an 80% chance of rain, as per the Department of Meteorology, Sri Lanka.

Should the rain disrupt the India vs Nepal match, and the points end up being divided between India and Nepal, it would be a letdown for Nepalese fans. Their team had previously lost their opening match against Pakistan and currently holds 0 points. If the India vs Nepal match does not happen, India would secure 2 points in total, while Nepal would be left with only 1 point, resulting in their elimination from Asia Cup 2023. Pakistan have already qualified for the next stage with 3 points in bag.

After getting thrashed by Pakistan by 238 runs in their Asia Cup 2023 opener, Nepal are looking forward to gaining as much as they can from heavyweights India.

In an interview, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel, said that he is looking forward to the India-Nepal Asia Cup match. He added that the team will talk with all Indian players after the match and learn from them. “It is an important match for both the teams. We as a new team in the Asia Cup are looking forward to tomorrow’s game because India is one of the great teams and we want to test ourselves against them…When we go on the field we want to compete and after the game, we will go and talk with all the players.”

If the India vs Nepal match does not get washed out, it would provide an excellent opportunity for Team India’s bowlers to assess the conditions before the Super 4 stage. The batting lineup, having faced challenging spells from Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, should have received a wake-up call.

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

Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Asif Sheikh, Kusal Bhurtel, Lalit Rajbanshi, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Arif Sheikh, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Kishor Mahato, Sundeep Jora, Arjun Saud, Shyam Dhakal.