[WATCH] Virat Kohli leads the distribution of special medals to Nepal players after their Asia Cup 2023 match
Team India cricketers were seen felicitating a few Nepal players after the fifth Asia Cup 2023 game at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday.
The Men in Blue thrashed Nepal by 10 wickets (via the DLS method) to book a Super Four berth alongside Pakistan from Group A. Rohit (74* off 59) and Shubman Gill (67* off 62) shared a record-breaking opening wicket stand to take the team home with 17 balls remaining.
Despite the defeat, Nepal played some spirited cricket and earned praise for the fight they put in. After the game, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Rahul Dravid were spotted felicitating a few Nepal players with medals amid the presence of cricketers from both teams.
The video has gone viral since then and has been received well by fans across the world.
Watch the clip here:
"We were 30 runs short" - Nepal skipper rues about lack of contribution from middle order for defeat vs India
Nepal openers got off to a stunning start after Indian skipper Rohit Sharma chose to field first in Pallekele. India were also sloppy on the field, which helped the opposition take control of the match in the first 10 overs.
Nepal added 65 runs for the opening before Shardul Thakur drew the first blood. The introduction of spin saw runs dry up as the Men in Blue slowly crawled back into the contest, reducing Nepal to 144/6.
But contributions from Dipendra Singh (29) and Sompal Kami (48) helped them post 230 runs on the board.
A few more rain interruptions meant that the target was revised to 145 runs in 23 overs. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill scored half-centuries to take the game home with 17 balls remaining.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel admitted that they were a few runs short. He also asserted that bowling wasn't an easy job on the wicket as the ball was not gripping at all.
"The openers did a good job for us, the middle order could have done better, we were 30 runs short and if the middle order had done well then we could have reached 260-270," Rohit Paudel said. "Our lower order has been doing a great job and contributing in the last four to five omonths. The conditions were really hard but our bowlers bowled well as the ball was not gripping."
Nepal, who debuted in the main event of the Asia Cup, crashed out of the continental tournament with two defeats from as many matches, with their first loss coming against Pakistan.