India sees over 226 pc surge in startup funding at $596 mn this week
The Indian startup ecosystem bounced back this week in terms of raising funds, clocking more than 226 per cent surge with securing around $596 million in total.
When Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel walked out for the toss on Monday, he maintained that the Asia Cup 2023 game against India was a great opportunity for his players to showcase their skills in front of the world.
The team responded to the skipper’s faith with a near-perfect batting performance to set a competitive 231, despite being put to bat in overcast conditions against a high quality bowling attack in Pallekele.
The Nepali innings got off to a decent start with the opening combo of Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh putting on 65 runs, thanks to India’s sloppy fielding that saw three catches being dropped in the first four overs.
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Aasif, who received one of the three reprieves after scoring a single run, took full advantage of the let-off by slamming a gritty half century and more importantly setting the tone for the other batters to score freely. The wicketkeeper-batter consumed 97 balls for his 58 runs, but he held fort at one end even as Ravindra Jadeja tore into the middle order after Shardul Thakur had removed Aasif’s opening partner Kushal for a 25-ball 38.
While Aasif’s knock made him the first Nepal batter to slam a half-century against India, it was lower order batter Sompal Kami’s quickfire 56-ball 48, and notable contributions from Gulsan Jha (23) and Dipendra Singh Airee (29) that helped the team get to the total.
As far as the Indian camp is concerned, Rohit Sharma and Co will have a lot of homework on their fielding if they are seriously considering a shot at the World title next month. Apart from the catches, India also missed a host of easy fielding opportunities, which saw them concede a few freebies, especially towards the end of the Nepal innings with the lower order easily converting the singles into twos and threes.
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