With the help of Yashavi Jaiswal’s scorching century and a team effort from the bowlers on Tuesday, India began their Asian Games campaign with a convincing victory against Nepal by 23 runs in the quarterfinal.
India restricted Nepal to 179/9 to advance to the semifinals with a comfortable victory.
While Ravi Bishnoi only gave up 24 runs while picking up three wickets, Avesh Khan grabbed three for 32. Sai Kishore took one wicket, while Arshdeep Singh took two.
Nepal lost their first wicket quite early. Aasif Sheikh was dropped by Avesh Khan in the fourth over at 10. Nepal made an effort to control the course of the innings by batting consistently, but they were unsuccessful as they lost their second wicket in the ninth over. At age 28, Sai Kishore defeated Kushal Bhurtel this time.
As two more batters returned to the pavilion in the eleventh over, Nepal appeared powerless. Kushal Malla (29) and Rohit Paudel (3) were both bowled by Ravi Bishnoi after he worked his magic.
When Airee hammered three consecutive sixes off of Dube’s bowling in the 14th over, Nepal managed to rally. However, Ravi Bishoi once more set them back when he dismissed Dipendra Singh Airee in the 15th over for 32.
Sompal Kami’s dismissal by Avesh Khan at 7 in the 17th over resulted in the loss of Nepal’s seventh wicket.
In the 18th over, Gulshan Jha was disissed by Arshdeep Singh. Sandeep Lamichhane was removed by Avesh for his third wicket, and Nepal was unable to complete the goal-contending.
Earlier, after deciding to bat, India’s young openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad launched an early assault on the Nepal bowlers. They scored 50 runs in only 4 overs.
Jaiswal smashed a quick six in the seventh over to start his blazing fifty in just 22 balls.
Ruturaj, who was trying to anchor the Indian innings, was out in the 10th over when Dipendra Singh Airee caught him for 25.
Tilak Varma was removed by Sompal Kami in the 12th over, giving Nepal its second wicket in rapid succession.
With his explosive delivery from the other end, Jaiswal struck the Nepali bowlers in each over. In the 16th over, he completed his century. In just 48 balls, he reached his century. Jaiswal’s innings however came to an end when he was caught by Bohara off an Airee full toss.
Rinku Singh showed off his power hitting in the penultimate over, adding a couple more runs as India set up a big total of 202/4.
Brief scores:
India: 202/4 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 100, Rinku Singh 37, Dipendra Singh Airee 2-31) vs Nepal: 179/9 (Dipendra Singh Airee 32, Sundeep Jora 29, Ravi Bishnoi 3-24).
