Picture Credit: Twitter
Nepal played its first ODI game against India and put up a tough fight as they put up a respectable total of 230 after being invited to bat first. Opener Aasif Sheikh starred for Nepal, scoring 58 off 97 balls, and was ably supported by Kushal Bhurtel at the top, who scored 38. India were sloppy on the field, dropping multiple easy catches, including Virat Kohli, who dropped Sheikh’s catch in the second over of the match.
The Indian team visited the Nepal dressing room after the game and awarded the scorers medals to celebrate their achievement. The first medal was presented by Hardik Pandya to Sompal Kami for his 48-ball 56, and Kohli awarded the second one to Aasif Sheikh. Incidentally, Nepal head coach Monty Desai revealed that Kohli is also Sheikh’s idol.
Talking about the interaction with the legend, Aasif said that Kohli joked that he deserves a medal as well for dropping his catch. “Virat Kohli jokingly told me, 'I should get a medal too, I dropped your catch,” Aasif told reporters as quoted by several media houses.
Meanwhile, India qualified for the Super 4s of the Asia Cup after beating Nepal by 10 wickets by DLS method in a rain-interrupted match. Chasing a revised target of 145 in 23 overs, India was able to complete the task with 17 balls remaining thanks to half-centuries by captain Rohit Sharma (74*) and Shubman Gill (67*). They will next face Pakistan in the Super 4s on Sunday, September 10 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
