Asia Cup 2023: India and Nepal will be facing each other in an International game for the first time ever. The two sides will have a crack against each other in the 5th game of the tournament. After India's contest against Pakistan got called off due to rain, the Men in Blue will be hoping the weather gods to stay away so that they can flex their muscles ahead of an almost certain Super Four entry.
In the first match against Pakistan, the Indian top order crumbled and fell apart before Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya came to the rescue with a 138-run stand for the 5th wicket. The weather did not permit any action after the completion of the first innings as both the teams shared points. Meanwhile, Nepal are coming off a thrashing they suffered at the hands of Pakistan in the tournament opener in Multan. They now face another tough challenge against India. The two play each other at the same venue Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in the second-last match of the group stage.
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium Pitch report
The pitch at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium supported fast bowlers in the previous game. Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah found help from the surface as the ball swung and seamed with rain being around. It is expected to help the bowlers, especially the fast ones again. With Jasprit Bumrah missing, India can bring in either Mohammed Shami or Prasidh Krishna.
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium The Numbers Game
Total ODI Matches: 38
Matches won batting first: 15
Matches won bowling first: 21
Average first innings score: 248
Average second innings score: 201
The highest total scored: 363/7 by South Africa vs Sri Lanka
Highest score chased: 314/6 by Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan
The lowest total recorded: 70 all out by Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka
The lowest total defended: 206/9 by West Indies vs Sri Lanka
India's Probable Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Nepal's Probable Playing XI:
Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Rohit Paudel (c), Aarif Sheikh, Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan Chhetri, Lalit Rajbanshi
