Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a scintillating hundred as India started their Asian Games campaign with a win against Nepal in the first quarter-final at Hangzhou on Tuesday.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, openers Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad got Men in Blue off to a fantastic start. The duo put on 103 runs for the opening wicket before the former perished to Dipendra Singh Airee for 25.
The Men in Blue lost wickets of Tilak Varma (2) and Jitesh Sharma (5) cheaply, as they were reduced to 119/3. The southpaw on the other hand reached his hundred off just 48 deliveries.
However a quickfire unbeaten knocks from Shivam Dube (25)* and Rinku Singh (37)* propelled India to a mammoth score of 202/4 in their allotted 20 overs.
In response, openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh got Nepal off to a steady start. The pair added 29 runs for the opening stand before the latter perished to Avesh Khan for 10.
Nepal lost wickets in the middle stages as they slumped to 77/4. However Dipendra Singh and Sundeep Jora launched the Indian bowlers by adding 45 runs for the fifth wicket stand before the former fell to Ravi Bishnoi for 32.
Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh combined together to pick five wickets, as Nepal finished at 179/9 in their 20 overs.
With the win, India qualified for the Asian Games 2023 semi-final on Friday, October 6.
India 202 for 4 (Jaiswal 100, Rinku 37*, Airee 2-31) beat Nepal 179 for 9 (Airee 32, Jora 29, Avesh 3-32, Bishnoi 3-24) by 23 runs