Yashasvi Jaiswal yet again showed what the hunger to shine in India colours means to him. The gutsy 21-year-old batter came up with a luminous knock in Hangzhou on Tuesday that dazzled spectators and experts alike. Yashasvi's 48-ball century, followed up by a quickfire 37 from Rinku Singh took India to a formidable total of 202. Nepal tried their best and gave it their all, but eventually fell short by 23 runs in their pursuit of the daunting target. Nepal's batting display will be a cause of concern for the Indians but nevertheless, by virtue of this win, the Men In Blue march on to the semifinals of the men's cricket competition at the Asian Games 2023. Catch the highlights of the IND vs NEP cricket match, played at Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field, Hangzhou. (Scorecard | Streaming | Full Coverage | Cricket News)
10am: Innings Recap
They did all they could. The Nepalese batters came out swinging and kept hitting fearlessly even when the wickets were falling, in their single-minded aim for victory. In the end, the gulf turned out to be a bit too wide to cross as India marched to a 23-run win. The Indian bowlers, however, have a lot to think about after today's performance.
9:54am: Nepal End With 179 (NEP 179-9 In 20 Overs)
Dube bowls the final over, and concedes no runs off the first five balls but a six off the last one. Nepal try their best but fall short by 23 runs.
9:50am: Avesh Gets His 3rd (NEP 173-9 In 19 Overs)
Wickets continue to tumble as the Nepalese batters refuse to go down without a fight. Avesh gets his third wicket and Sai Kishore takes his fourth catch of the innings as Nepal are now nine down.
9:41am: Arshdeep Takes His Second (NEP 156/8 In 17.1 Overs)
And Arshdeep gets a wicket the very next ball. Gulsan Jha is caught at long on, and Nepal's chances appear to have finally evaporated after they gave it a jolly good fight.
9:39am: Avesh Gets Another Wicket (NEP 156/7 In 17 Overs)
Avesh sends back Sompal, who tries to slog but mistimes it. Sai Kishore comes charging in from long on and dives in front to take an excellent catch.
9:33am: Arshdeep Gets Jora (NEP 140/6 In 15.4 Overs)
And now Sundeep Jora departs for a 12-ball 29 after striking a few lusty blows. Arshdeep comes back well after gitting hit for two sixes, persisting with a full and straight line of attack. Jora clubs it straight to long off.
9:26am: Airee Departs! (NEP 122/5 In 14.2 Overs)
And he leaves after a short-but-sweet stay. Airee goes in the quest for more quick runs, holing out in the deep off Bishnoi. Out for a 15-ball 32.
9:24am: Three Sixes In A Row! (NEP 120/4 In 14 Overs)
Dipendra Singh Airee, who broke records with his nine-ball fifty against Mongolia, has now struck Shivam Dube for three sixes in a row. Nepal making it fun for the fans, and also trying to make a match of it.
9:20am: Asking Run Rate Nears 15 (NEP 99/4 In 13 Overs)
Nepal are staying afloat, but only just. They are finding a boundary every over to try and keep pace, but the asking rate has still crept up to around 15 per over.
9:11am: Another One For Bishnoi! (NEP 77/4 In 11 Overs)
Bishnoi now traps Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel in front, bagging his second wicket in a span of three balls. Nepal now in trouble.
9:08am: Superb Team Catch! (NEP 76/3 In 10.4 Overs)
Rahul Tripathi and Rinku Singh have combined brilliantly in the outfield to dismiss dangerman Kushal Malla. Tripathi takes a diving catch at long off and relays it to Rinku, who is alert enough to be there and makes no mistake it. Bishnoi gets a wicket.
9:03am: Washington Into Attack (NEP 73/2 In 10 Overs)
Washington into the attack but concedes 11 runs in his first over. Kushal Malla smashes him for a massive six.
8:56am: Wicket For Sai! (NEP 62/2 In 8.5 Overs)
Sai Kishore gets his first international wicket. Dismisses Bhurtel, who tries to paddle it but ends up hitting it straight to Avesh at short fine leg.
8:53am: Spinners Bowling Well (NEP 55/1 In 8 Overs)
Sai Kishore is getting appreciable turn and bounce, and Bishnoi too extracting some zip from the surface. Both proving hard to get away.
8:47am: Bishnoi Introduced (NEP 46/1 In 6 Overs)
Ravi Bishnoi comes in and bowls a tight first over, conceding just 5 runs. Powerplay ends.
8:35am: Avesh Gets First Breakthrough (NEP 29/1 In 3.4 Overs)
Avesh gets some extra bounce to dismiss Aasif, who edges it through to keeper Jitesh. First international catch for Jitesh on debut.
8:31am: Sai Kishore Replaces Arshdeep (NEP 23/0 In 3 Overs)
Debutant Sai Kishore replaces Arshdeep and bowls a tight over. Sai Kishore was visibly emotional at the national anthem, realising his dream of playing in India colours finally came true.
8:27am: Avesh From Other End (NEP 17/0 In 2 Overs)
Avesh Khan bowling wicket to wicket from the other end but Nepalese batters look to be innovative and scoop him early doors. A streaky four ends the over.
8:23am: Wayward First Over From Arshdeep (NEP 8/0 In 1 Over)
Arshdeep getting some shape as always with the new ball but concedes a boundary on the off side and three wides. Needs to find his rhythm soon.
8:20am: Nepal Innings Begins
Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh has the new ball as Nepal's innings begins. Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh the openers for Nepal.
8:16am: Innings Recap
It was a Yashasvi Jaiswal show right from the start. The 21-year-old southpaw lit up the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field with a sparkling 48-ball century and delighted the spectators with his effortless strokeplay. Yashasvi departed soon after getting to the three-figure mark but then fellow southpaw Rinku Singh joined the party and smashed a boundary-rich 15-ball 37 in the final few overs to take India past 200. It will be a daunting ask for Nepal to chase this target of 203.
Read our detailed report on Jaiswal's swashbuckling knock here.
8:06am: Rinku Takes India Past 200 (IND - 202/4 In 20 Overs)
Firebrand southpaw brings out the fireworks and finished the innings with a trademark flourish. His 15-ball 37 takes India past 200.
7:50am: Yashasvi Departs (IND - 150/4 In 16.2 Overs)
And he is dismissed soon after scoring a spendid ton. Out off a full toss! Charges the bowler and ends up slicing it to short third man. He scored 100 off 49 balls (8x4, 7x6).
7:47am: Century For Yashasvi! (IND - 149/3 In 16 Overs)
And he gets to his ton off just 48 balls. The young man has batted like a dream on a pitch where others have struggled a bit.
7:40am: Yashasvi 5 Short Of Ton (IND - 138/3 In 15 Overs)
The young Yashasvi is nearing his century, and is exhorting partner Shivam Dube to give him the strike. Eager to take charge at the striker end.
7:32am: Jitesh Dismissed (IND 119/3 In 12.5 Overs)
And now Jitesh Sharma is out. Yashasvi seems to be cruising but the other batters not so much. Jitesh charges down the track and looks to loft, only to miscue it straight up for the bowler Lamichhane to take the catch himself mid-pitch. Jitesh dismissed for 5 off 4 balls.
7:24am: Tilak Varma Dismissed (IND 111/2 In 11.4 Overs)
Tilak, who came in at No. 3, departs after an extremely slow start. Looks to pull across Sompal the line but the ball is not short enough. Gets an under-edge onto the stumps. Out for 2 off 10 balls.
7:15am: Ruturaj Departs (IND- 103/1 In 9.5 Overs)
Ruturaj goes for a big one on the legside, but doesn't find the middle of the bat. Holes out at deep midwicket for 25 off 23 balls.
7:12am: Ruturaj Joins The Party (IND - 96/0 In 9 Overs)
While Yashasvi has been going hammer and tongs, skipper Ruturaj was a bit scratchy and not able to get the ball away with as much regularity. He is now beginning to find his timing and smacks Sandeep Lamichhane for a couple of trademark inside-out lofted drive boundaries.
7:02am: Fifty For Yashasvi (IND - 76/0 In 7 Overs)
The young man dances down the track and lofts it cleanly over long off. Gets to his fifty off just 22 balls with a six
6:58am: Quieter Sixth Over (IND - 63/0 In 6 Overs)
Airee comes back with a much quieter sixth over to end the powerplay. Meanwhile, Yashasvi nearing a half-century.
6:51am: Yashaswi Dealing In Boundaries (IND - 54/0 In 4 Overs)
Yashaswi has been typically ferocious, and was dealing only in sixes till the last ball of the 4th over, which he lots over midwicket for a four. Takes a liking to off-spinner Dipendra Singh Airee immediately.
6:48am: Indians In On The Act (IND - 38/0 In 3 Overs)
Doesn't take long for Yashaswi and Ruturaj to get going. The southpaw with three big hits in the leg side and Ruturaj too finds the fence twice to get India off to a blazing start.
6:36am: Sharp First Over (IND - 6/0 In 1 Over)
Not a bad start at all from Nepal seamer Sompal Kami, who is bowling tight lines and with some pace. Ruturaj and Yashaswi are watchful and score 6 runs off it.
6:31am: Openers Out In Middle
Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashaswi Jaiswal out in the middle to start things off for India.
6:26am: National Anthem Time
The two teams are out on the park for the national anthems. The young Indian side visibly overwhelmed with emotion on representing the country at the prestigious multi-sport event.
6:21am: Playing XI
India XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, R Sai Kishore, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh
Nepal XI: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Sundeep Jora, Gulsan Jha, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Abinash Bohara, Sandeep Lamichhane
6:19am: Toss Update
India have won the toss and elect to bat first.
India women have done it at the first time of asking. Now, it's the turn of the Indian men. A young team led by Ruturaj Gaikwad will be out to emulate what Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. have achieved at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China -- winning the gold medal. But first, they need to successfully negotiate the Nepalese threat. A reluctant Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), while keeping in mind the home World Cup, have named a talented team for the 19th Asiad.
Squads
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Prabhsimran Singh, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Deep
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Binod Bhandari (wk), Sundeep Jora, Gulsan Jha, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Abinash Bohara, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratis GC, Bibek Yadav
