Asian Games 2023: The Indian men's cricket team will kick off their Asian Games campaign by facing Nepal in the quarterfinal of the cricket tournament.
Opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the young Indian team in the competition which is being played in the T20 format. India will be favourites for another gold medal in Hangzhou after the women's team clinched the ultimate prize a few days ago.
Five teams in the men's event - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will directly play in the quarter-final stage, courtesy of the ICC T20I ranking on June 1. All the matches have official T20I status. The other three quarter-finalists are Nepal, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
VVS Laxman, team India's Head Coach for the Asian Games said that participating in the competition in itself is a "big opportunity and a matter of great pride for all these players."
🗣️🗣️ 'Participating in the #AsianGames in itself is a big opportunity and a matter of great pride for all these players.'#TeamIndia Head Coach @VVSLaxman281 ahead of the quarterfinal against Nepal. #IndiaAtAG22 pic.twitter.com/mfKYaoIl80
October 2, 2023Ruturaj Gaikwad on Monday said he will lean on his own leadership style as he prepares to lead the Indian men's team in its maiden Asian Games cricket campaign.
AdvertisementGaikwad, who has established himself as a vital cog in Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, said he would like to give players the freedom to express themselves.
"I got to learn a lot of things from him (Dhoni) but every person has a different style. His style is different, his personality is different and my personality is a bit different," Gaikwad told the media in Hangzhou ahead of India's first game.
Gaikwad said the players are eager to win the gold medal like their women counterparts. "Coming to the Asian Games, everyone is eager to win the gold for the country and stand up on the podium," he said.
India's opponent for the quarter-final match Nepal qualified for the knock out stage by defeating Mongolia and Maldives in the group stage.
Nepal batters smashed three world records en route to becoming the first team to amass a 300-plus total in T20Is in their first group stage match against Mongolia last week.
AdvertisementKushal Malla, a 19-year-old left-handed batter, struck the fastest-ever T20I hundred in 34 balls, eclipsing David Miller and Rohit Sharma's joint previous record (35 balls).
Batting at No 3, Malla smashed 12 sixes and eight fours to remain unbeaten on 137 and power Nepal to the highest-ever T20I score of 314 for 3 against Mongolia, who opted to field.
Their No 5 batter Dipendra Singh Airee also rewrote the record books, blasting a nine-ball fifty that bettered Yuvraj Singh's 16-year-old record.
The previous record for the highest innings total in a T20I was held by Afghanistan, who had amassed 278 for 3 against Ireland on February 23, 2019. Nepal won the match by 273 runs.
In their second match, Nepal defeated Maldives by 138 runs.
Here is all you need to know about the India vs Nepal match in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games 2023 men's cricket competition.
Asian Games 2023 Cricket: India vs Nepal Date And Time
The India vs Nepal match will be played on Tuesday, October 3 from 6:30 AM onwards.
Asian Games 2023 Cricket: India vs Nepal Venue
The IND vs NEP quarter final match will be played at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field.
Asian Games 2023 Cricket: India vs Nepal Live Telecast And TV Channel Details
The India vs Nepal match will be broadcast on the Sony Sports Network in India.
Asian Games 2023 Cricket: India vs Nepal Live Streaming Details
The quarter-final between India and Nepal will be streamed live on the SonyLiv app and website.
India Cricket Squad For Asian Games 2023
Team India (Senior Men) squad for 19th Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Akash Deep.
Nepal Cricket Squad For Asian Games 2023
Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Binod Bhandari (wk), Sundeep Jora, Gulsan Jha, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Abinash Bohara, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratis GC, Bibek Yadav.
(With PTI inputs)
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