India, who just defeated Pakistan in Asia Cup, will play Hong Kong on Wednesday in an attempt to secure a position in the Super Four stage
India will play Hong Kong on Wednesday in Dubai with the mindset of securing a spot in the Asia Cup 2022 Super Four stages.
The Indian team will be in good spirits going into the game after defeating Pakistan by five wickets in their opening game of Asia Cup on August 28. The speed attack, which was led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, completed its work on the day by dismantling the Pakistani batting order. Hardik Pandya, who was in exceptional form that day, provided adequate support for Kumar as he took four wickets.
The target was 148, but the chase was anything but simple. All eyes will be on the Indian top order for the match against Hong Kong after the top order failed to impress in the opening game. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were unimpressive while Kohli scored a composed 35.
The excellent Naseem Shah dismissed Rahul for a golden duck as the Indian captain only managed to score 12 runs off 18 balls.
Before the Super Four stages, both of the openers will view the associate team as a chance to get back in the game and get in shape.
Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja seem to be the most dominant batsmen right now. In the face of pressure from Pakistan, the all-rounder team maintained their composure and made sure India crossed the finish line. The ball skills of Pandya and Jadeja could potentially end up being crucial on the day.
Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja seem to be the most dominant batsmen right now. In the face of pressure from Pakistan, the all-rounder team maintained their composure and made sure India crossed the finish line. The ball skills of Pandya and Jadeja could potentially end up being crucial on the day.
On the other hand, Hong Kong are no pushover, thus the associate team will be hoping to give India a fightback on Wednesday.
The associate team challenged MS Dhoni’s side in their most recent matchup, which took place in 2018. After scoring 287 runs, Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath’s opening stand made India sweat. Despite this, India was ultimately successful in securing the victory.
Ahead of the game, Khan, the current captain of the Hong Kong team, said that anything can happen in a T20 game and that the team will approach their encounter against the opposition on Wednesday with an optimistic outlook.
“We lost by just 20 runs when we last faced India at the Asia Cup in 2018. Anything can happen in a T20 game. You don’t when a bowler can deliver a good spell, or a batter hits some quick runs in a couple of overs.”
“We have seen in the past too how even the top sides have lost against associate teams. We will go with positive body language and will stick to our process,” said Khan.
Even though India will start the game as the favorite, Sharma and his team won’t be ignoring the affiliate team as they try to secure a position in the Super Four stage.
