India secured a dominant win over Nepal and booked their spot in the Super 4 of the 2023 Asia Cup. Their batting was flawless as they won the match by 10 wickets, but there were a lot of issues with their fielding and bowling — and it was pointed out by captain Rohit Sharma in the post-match discussion.
India were extremely sloppy in the field and Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, and Ishan Kishan dropped as many as three catches in the first five overs. Apart from all this, there were overthrows and general lethargy in the field.
Read We haven’t been at our best, admits Rohit Sharma after Nepal win
The disarray on the field did not go down too well with Rohit and he expressed his frustration quite visibly. His facial expressions told a tale and his animated reactions summed up India’s fielding and bowling performance.
In the 38th over of Nepal’s innings, Shardul Thakur’s overran a ball in the deep and it irked the captain even more. Sompal Kami struck a short delivery from Hardik Pandya over the wicketkeeper, Shardul raced towards the ball, but then fumbled as the ball slipped under him and reached the boundary. Rohit’s displeasure was palpable as India’s ground fielding never really hit its stride.
Rain then interrupted the game at the beginning of the next over and a disgruntled Rohit walked off. He stood in one corner and observed his teammates exiting the field with an expression of disappointment. He waited for Shardul to pass by and was involved in an animated chat with him.
— Nihari Korma (@NihariVsKorma) September 5, 2023
Nepal made the most of these lapses from India and after a couple of run-outs, courtesy of Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami, were eventually bowled out for 230. A half-century by Aasif Sheikh and a crucial 48 by Kami had given Nepal a respectable score. Rain intervened once again and India were asked to chase down 145 from 23 overs according to the DLS calculations.
Rohit (74 not out) and Shubman Gill (67 not out) both scored half-centuries, as India eased to a win with 10 wickets and 17 deliveries to spare.