Spilled catches and bowling that lacked sting, temper India’s 10 wkt win over Nepal in Asia Cup | Cricket News

For a second successive match in the space of three days, with exactly one month to go for the World Cup, India showed they are still a fair dance away from being a well-oiled machine. Facing Nepal in their second Group B match of the Asia Cup in Pallekele, where the Sri Lanka leg continues to be battered rain, India’s bowling lacked the bite and finesse and their fielding was so error-prone, they allowed Nepal to put 230 runs on board, taking 48.3 overs to bowl them out. Not even a 10-wicket win could hide their below-par performance with the ball.
The exasperated face of captain Rohit Sharma in the end told a thousand stories. Not even a good batting effort, where India chased down the revised target of 145 in 23 overs (DLS method) with 17 balls to spare and 10 wickets in hand, could bring a smile. It was an evening where India should have shown their ruthless side and meant business. Instead, they were lacklustre in every sense, living dangerously in the conviction that their opponents would eventually run out of gas at some stage or the other. It did happen with Nepal, but at the World Cup, they can hardly afford such days.

From the time they took the field after winning the toss as they wanted to give the bowling unit a go before the Super 4 stage, India appeared a team that was battling Monday blues. Against an opponent that is featuring in its maiden Asia Cup, instead of putting up the game face that Rohit demanded ahead of the tournament, they were tepid on the field, dropping as many as three catches inside the first five overs, letting Nepal fly off in the first powerplay. The sloppy fielding, which led to Nepal stealing extra runs every now and then and misfields meant, they ended up with 230 in 48.3 overs.
With less than a handful of matches remaining before the World Cup, this ought to be the tournament where India were expected to hit the ground running. Instead, a couple of days after their top-order faltered against a high-octane pace attack, India’s bowling unit looked flat against a batting line-up they should have rolled over. Of course, they did so in the end, taking 48.4 overs with the inexperience of Nepal showing at times, giving enough reasons for India’s think-tank to have a relook at their bowling combination before the Super 4 stage.
For a team that is used to show such hardened intensity on the field even against lesser-known teams in the not so dant past, this looked a totally different outfit. Off the last ball of the first over bowled Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer spilled one that was travelling fast off Kushal Bhurtel’s blade. And off the first ball of the second over delivered Mohammed Siraj, Virat Kohli dropped a sitter offered Aasif Sheik. Then in the fifth over, it was the turn of Ishan Kishan to fluff the chance offered Bhurtel down the leg-side leaving Rohit to bury his head in the hands.

It’s @ShubmanGill‘s turn to raise his bat! 🙌🏻😍
5️⃣0️⃣ for the star opener who has been at his absolute best tonight, taking #TeamIndia closer to victory.
Tune-in to #AsiaCupOnStar, LIVE NOW on Star Sports Network#INDvNEP #Cricket pic.twitter.com/Heg5ozvbwG
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 4, 2023
It was an evening where Rohit’s face and body language alone told a thousand tales. It was an opportunity for this bowling unit to show they meant business. Instead, with the dropped chances adding to their frustrations, Siraj started to lose the plot when Bhurtel, after playing a wonderfully timed on-drive, let the ball disappear with a pull shot that travelled as far as the car park that lay beyond the grassbanks.Most Read
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Siraj was seething in anger. Rohit even more. This was a moment that should have woken up India. Instead of going for the kill and showing no remorse, for most part of the evening they appeared to wait for Nepal batsmen to commit makes on their own. With the urgency missing, Nepal went about ticking the scoreboard. Even Kuldeep Yadav, whose left-arm wr spin and wrong ’un is hard to pick for established batsmen, couldn’t breach the Nepal batting line-up which was prepared to play him out.

5️⃣0️⃣ for @ImRo45! 👏👏
The #TeamIndia skipper has been a sight for sore eyes, marrying elegance & power to bring up a beautiful half century!
Tune-in to #AsiaCupOnStar, LIVE NOW on Star Sports Network#INDvNEP #Cricket pic.twitter.com/Y9T3erXfmh
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 4, 2023
Thakur lackluster
If Siraj was wayward, Shardul Thakur’s performance – 4-0-26-1 – would worry India. With the rest of the pacers not equipped to bat at No 8, India believe Thakur will provide them the depth. But his bowling, despite providing the breakthroughs, continues to remain expensive and has seldom looked threatening. Monday was an opportunity for him to shut the noise early putting in a performance of note as every time one of Shami or Siraj is benched to accommodate Thakur, questions are bound to be raised. Instead, he was among those who had a forgettable outing as he was guilty of misfielding on multiple occasions, even conceding a boundary.

Having decided to compromise on bowling options and ones who could be counted upon to deliver 10 overs, it would be interesting to see how far India go with Thakur, who has completed his full quota of overs only in seven of the 40 matches he has played and averages 29.11 and costs 6.17 runs an over.

THAT’S OUTTTT! 👆@imShard draws first blood, breaking a flourishing partnership, giving #TeamIndia their first breakthrough!
Tune-in to #AsiaCupOnStar, LIVE NOW on Star Sports Network#INDvNEP #Cricket pic.twitter.com/y7HT2DP8TG
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 4, 2023
On a night where others struggled, Shami and Ravindra Jadeja stood out. The latter, who is known to dart his deliveries much quicker in white-ball cricket, didn’t mind giving enough air, inviting Nepal batsmen to go after him as he ended up with three wickets. Shami, on the other hand, served another reminder of his seamers, and showed why he still remains an all-conditions bowler, capable of making early inroads provided fielders held on to the opportunities he creates.