India would look to seal their Super 4 spot on Wednesday when the Asian giants take in Hong Kong in a Asia Cup 2022 Group A encounter at the Dubai International Stadium. India have virtually qualified for the Super 4 having beaten Pakistan on Sunday. (Match Blog | Cricket News)
India were spot on, on all departments against Pakistan. If Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya led the bowling with combined seven wickets, youngsters Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan shared the rest as India restricted the arch-rivals below 150.
With just 148 to win, it should have been straight forward chase but India’s experienced top-three -- KL Rahul (0), Rohit Sharma (12) and Virat Kohli (35) – faltered, putting extra pressure on the middle order.
Hardik (33 not out off 17) and Ravindra Jadeja (35 off 29) then shared a 52-run stand to take India on the cusp of a famous win. The star all-rounder's three fours off Haris Rauf off the 19th over effectively sealed the game for India.
With the team needing 6 off three balls, Hardik finished the game with a six off left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz. On the other hand, Hong Kong are coming after winning all their three games in the qualifiers beating Singapore, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates.
The experience of former Ireland international Trent Johnston as head coach also worked well for Hong Kong. While Babar Hayat, Yasim Murtaza and skipper Nizakat Khan were among runs at the top of the order, the bowlers were led by 37-year-old Ehsan Khan who picked up 9 wickets in 3 games.
The only area of concern of Johnston will be the middle order who weren’t tested baring the Singapore match as Hong Kong won both matches against Kuwait and UAE by identical eight-wicket margins.
Head-To-Head
India haven’t played Hong Kong yet in T20 internationals. On Wednesday, both teams will meet for the first time.
India vs Hong Kong, Asia Cup 2022 Match Details
Match: IND vs HK, 4th Match, Group A;
Date: August 31 (Wednesday), 2022;
Time: 7:30 PM IST/6:00 PM Local;
Venue: Dubai International Stadium, UAE.
How To Watch India Vs Hong Kong, Asia Cup 2022 Cricket Match?
Star Sports Network have the broadcast rights of the Asia Cup 2022 in India. Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada will live telecast the India vs Hong Kong, Asia Cup 2022 Group A match from 7:30 PM IST. DD Sports will also live telecast the Asia Cup 2022. Live streaming of India vs Hong Kong will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
Elsewhere...
Afghanistan: Ariana TV; Australia: YuppTV; Bangladesh: Gazi TV (GTV), Channel 9, BTV National; Canada: YuppTV; Hong Kong: Star Sports; MENA Countries: OSN Sports; New Zealand: YuppTV; Pakistan: PTV Sports, Ten Sports; South Africa: SuperSport; Sri Lanka: SLRC (Channel Eye); UK And USA: Hotstar.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
Hong Kong: Yasim Murtaza, Nizakat Khan(c), Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie(w), Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Ayush Shukla, Wajid Shah, Aftab Hussain, Dhananjay Rao, Mohammad Waheed, Ahan Trivedi, Ateeq Iqbal
