Pallekele, Sep 4: Mohammed Shami replaced Jasprit Bumrah in India’s playing eleven as captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first against Nepal in their Asia Cup Group A match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, here on Monday.
India need to win Monday’s match to progress to the Super Four stage of the competition. Shami's inclusion in the playing eleven comes after Bumrah flew back home for the birth of his son Angad.
"We batted in the last game. We want to see what the bowlers have in offer for us. I don't know about the weather. We just want to have the bowlers to have a game under the belt."
"The way we batted under pressure, Hardik and Ishan batted brilliantly. Ishan showed a lot of maturity and took the game on as well. Good signs for us. It's another important game for us," said Sharma.
It is Nepal’s first-ever ODI against India and captain Rohit Paudel said Bhim Sharki comes into the playing eleven in place of Aarif Sheikh. "I think today is the biggest day for Nepal cricket, a great opportunity to showcase our skills in front of the cricket world."
As soon as Paudel spoke, drizzle began and covers were brought on the pitch. The match also marks 250th men’s ODI match for former India fast-bowler Javagal Srinath as a match referee.
Srinath becomes the fourth person to reach the milestone of 250 ODIs as match referee after Ranjan Madugalle, Chris Broad and Jeff Crowe.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wicketkeeper), Rohit Paudel (captain), Bhim Sharki, Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC and Lalit Rajbanshi. (IANS)
