India began their Asian Games campaign with a dominant 23-run quarterfinal victory over Nepal. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s blazing century, combined with a great collective bowling performance, propelled them into the semi-finals after reducing Nepal to 179/9.
Nepal endured early losses in their chase of the imposing mark, as Avesh Khan made a critical breakthrough, dismissing Aasif Sheikh in the fourth over on a score of 10. Despite their efforts to stabilise the innings, Nepal suffered another setback in the ninth over when Sai Kishore dismissed Kushal Bhurtel for 28 runs.
Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi each grabbed three wickets, and Arshdeep Singh (2 wickets) and Sai Kishore (1 wicket) also helped to India’s impressive bowling performance.
India’s young opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad wasted no time in launching an early attack on the Nepali bowlers in their match against Nepal. They crossed the 50-run mark in just four overs.
Jaiswal’s scorching performance saw him reach a blazing half-century in 22 balls, which he reached with a magnificent six in the 7th over of the session.
Ruturaj, who was playing a stabilising role, was out in the 10th inning after scoring 25 runs, courtesy of Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee.
Sompal Kami dismissed Tilak Varma in the 12th over to give Nepal its second wicket in rapid succession.
From the other end, Jaiswal maintained his explosive form, consistently taking on Nepal’s bowlers in every over. In the 16th over, he scored an amazing century in just 48 balls.
However, Jaiswal’s brilliant performance was cut short when Airee threw a full delivery that Jaiswal couldn’t clear, resulting in a catch by Bohara.
Rinku Singh’s power-hitting abilities were on display during the penultimate over of the game, as the 25-year-old assisted India in setting a huge goal of 202 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
