India missed three golden opportunities as Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, and Ishan Kishan dropped straightforward catches off Nepal openers Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel. This was in the first, second, and the fifth overs after India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl and both the batters made great use of the dropped chances.
Together the pair added 65 runs in the first powerplay before Shardul Thakur removed Kushal Bhurtel for 38(25) in the 10th over. Ravindra Jadeja then inflicted the second blow as he cleaned up Bhim Sharki for 7(17).
India have made one change as Mohammed Shami replaces Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI, with the latter travelling home for the birth of his first child. It’s a do-or-die situation for both India and Nepal, as a defeat for either would mean packing their bags and heading home. Pakistan have already qualified with 3 points, while India currently stand second with 1 point, and Nepal has yet to secure any.
Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh(w), Rohit Paudel(c), Bhim Sharki, Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
