Asia Cup 2023: Predicting 3 players who could score the most runs in today’s India vs Nepal match ft. Ishan Kishan
Team India will square off against Nepal in their second game in Asia Cup 2023 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday. Both teams will need a win to progress to the next round of the continental tournament.
Rohit Sharma and company's first game against Pakistan was called off due to a wet outfield on Saturday. The Men in Blue banked on half-centuries from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya to post 266 runs after an early collapse.
India will hope their top-order batters get some runs and return to form before the ICC ODI World Cup, which starts next month. Shubman Gill has been under the scanner, while Rohit and Virat Kohli, too, are short of runs. They need to regain confidence before the 50-over showpiece event.
Nepal, on the other hand, will look to put their best foot forward against a heavyweight side like India. It will be a great learning curve for them as they have an eye on the next 14-team edition of 2027.
Pallekele is known for producing competitive wickets and the overcast conditions might just help the fast bowlers a bit more. The average first-innings score at the venue in men's ODIs is 248, with only a few teams crossing the 300-run mark.
Thus, the batters will have to spend some time in the middle to get their eye in before unleashing the shots. On that note, let's take a look at three batters who could score the most runs in today's India vs Nepal match.
#1 Ishan Kishan
The young wicketkeeper-batter came into the playing XI against Pakistan only after KL Rahul was ruled out of the contest due to an injury.
Batting in the middle order for the first in an ODI, Ishan Kishan produced a sublime knock under pressure. He was the saving grace for India against a quality Pakistan bowling attack, guiding them to 266 after being reduced to 66/4 within 15 overs.
Ishan looked confident and dominated the Pakistan attack, smashing nine boundaries and two sixes during his 81-ball 82-run knock.
The southpaw will look to continue the momentum and play another big knock on Monday. Ishan will hope to give another good account of himself and retain his place in the side when Rahul returns.
#2 Rohit Sharma
The Indian skipper had a dismal outing against Pakistan in the first game. He struggled against left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi, who beautifully set up Rohit Sharma's dismissal. Shaheen Afridi bowled two outswingers before bringing one back to knock over the batter. He scored 11 runs off 22 balls before getting out in the fifth over.
Rohit will hope to hit the strides on Monday and play a big knock to get his rhythm back as the World Cup beckons. A weak Nepal bowling attack means that the right-handed batter will have a good opportunity to regain his confidence.
The Mumbai-born batter enjoys a decent record at this venue, having previously scored an unbeaten 124 against Sri Lanka.
#3 Shubman Gill
The young batting prodigy Shubman Gill had a great start to the year, hitting a double century and two tons in four matches. However, he witnessed a dip in form since then, managing only one half-century in his last seven ODI innings.
With Ishan Kishan making the most of the opportunity and KL Rahul returning to the scheme of things, Gill will be under pressure to put up a big score under his belt.
A game against a weaker opponent like Nepal might just be the right platform for Gill to storm back to form and regain his confidence.
If he gets his eyes in and hits the ball from the middle of the bat, expect him to play a big knock on Monday.