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Confident India take on comparatively minnow side Hong Kong as Rohit Sharma-led side lost the toss and are invited to bat first in their Asia Cup 2022's Group A encounter at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday (August 31).
Meanwhile, India included Rishabh Pant in their playing XI in place of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
“We were going to bowl first as well. Looks like an even covering of grass and we need to bat well to get to a good score. We just want to continue to do what we are doing as a team. We don't want to look at the opposition and play good and hard cricket. We need to do our basics right, which is what got us a victory against Pakistan. One change: Hardik is rested considering how important he is for us, Pant comes in,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said after losing the toss.
“We are going to bowl first. In Oman, we chased down well and that is what we are looking to do. The last time we played India, it was a good game and we know we did some mistakes and want to make sure we capitalize on that. We have the same team we played against UAE,” Hong Kong's captain Nizakat Khan before the match.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul couldn't have wished for an easier opposition to get his rhythm back as a buoyant India get ready to steamroll minnows Hong Kong in their second and final group league game of the Asia Cup.
The Group A match won't be more than a glorified net session for Rohit Sharma's men against a team, mostly comprising Pakistani and Indian expats, who otherwise are not good enough to play first-class cricket in either of the two nations.
After a hard-earned victory over Pakistan in a last-over thriller, scripted by Hardik Pandya, the focus against Hong Kong will be on batters and their adequate game time.
Obviously, the quality of Hong Kong bowling, to put it politely, won't match up to Pakistan, but there is always a fear as one doesn't exactly know what to expect from an unknown entity.
Head to head
India 2-0 HK. Both their previous two contests have been played in Asia Cups (2008, 2018) in the ODI format. Wednesday will mark their first meeting in a T20I.
India's Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh.
Hong Kong's Playing XI: Nizakat Khan(c), Yasim Murtaza, Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie(w), Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Ayush Shukla, Mohammad Ghazanfar.
