The Indian team cricketers were spotted felicitating a few players of the Nepal team after the fifth game of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday. Team India outplayed Nepal by 10 wickets (via the DLS method) to seal a spot in the Super Four alongside Pakistan from Group A. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma made 74* off 59 and Shubman Gill scored 67* off 62), sharing a record-breaking opening wicket stand to take the team home with 17 balls to spare.
Even though Nepal lost the game, they played some great cricket and received a lot of praise. Post the game, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Rahul Dravid presented medals to a few Nepal players. The video of the same has gone viral on social media and fans have been appreciating this heartwarming gesture of the Indian team.
Talking about the game, Nepal opened got a flying start after Rohit Sharma decided to bowl first at Pallekele. Both openers added 65 runs for the opening wicket before Shardul Thakur drew the first blood. Late but crucial contributions from Dipendra Singh (29) and Kami (48) helped them post 230 runs on the board.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said, “The openers did a good job for us, the middle order could have done better, we were 30 runs short and if the middle order had done well then we could have reached 260-270," Rohit Paudel said. "Our lower order has been doing a great job and contributing in the last four to five months. The conditions were really hard but our bowlers bowled well as the ball was not gripping."
Nepal who are taking part in the Asia Cup for the first time got out of the continental tournament with two losses from as many matches, with their first loss coming against Pakistan.