Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited Nepal to bat in their Asia Cup match at the Pallakelle International Stadium in Kandy on Monday. This is the first ever 50-over match between India and the tiny Himalayan nation.
For India, pacer Mohammed Shami has been picked as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, who flew back home on Sunday for the birth of his baby boy. Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel too has announced a change in their playing XI with Bhim Sharki replacing Aarif Sheikh.
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This is the second match for both the nations in the ongoing 16th edition of the Asia Cup, with India splitting points with hosts and arch-rivals Pakistan after the washed out affair on Saturday, while Nepal opened their campaign with a mammoth 238-run loss to Babar Azam’s men in Multan.
The weather at the Pallakelle Stadium doesn’t seem promising for a full game as it started drizzling just after the toss, and the pitch, the square and large parts of the outfield are now under covers.
Teams:
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Rohit Paudel (c), Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Bhim Sharki, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj