India won their first match of the Asia Cup 2022 in a last-over thriller and they will look to capitalize on the opportunity against Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31) to confirm their place in the Super Fours. Hong Kong, on the other hand, has come into the group after defeating the UAE in the finals of the Asia Cup qualifiers.
The second match for India will be an easy sail through but Hong Kong will look to give India a tough fight. The chances of the latter reigning over are less but the team cannot be undermined. Let’s take a look at the match preview for the fourth match of the Asia Cup 2022:
Team News:
India
Team India will march on to the game on the back of a stupendous performance in their first match against the arch-rivals Pakistan. The skipper Rohit Sharma has been fantastic in the shortest format of the game and the return of Virat Kohli will add to India’s experience.
Ravindra Jadeja played a vital role in backing the star of the night Hardik Pandya. The duo will have to team up again to keep the streak going. In the bowling department, Avesh Khan must look to fire up at the front with the ball while the pace spearhead Bhuvaneshwar Kumar will look to emulate the same energy from the last match.
Players to watch out for:
1) Suryakumar Yadav:
The player missed out on the opportunity to contribute with the bat in the last match and would look to make up for it in the match against Hong Kong. The star batter has a century in the shortest format of the game and can go big any given time on his day. The Mumbai batter is definitely a player to watch out for in the next match.
2) Rohit Sharma:
The skipper Rohit Sharma failed to fire with the bat the other night, but his captaincy stood out as India ended up winning the match by 5 wickets. The Mumbai batter will have to fire in the next match with the bat and would look to contribute a few runs to the Men in Blue.
3) Yuzvendra Chahal:
The bowler went wicketless in the last match and he’ll definitely make up for it in the next match. The Rajasthan spin star has all it takes to spin the match in India’s favour and tomorrow will be no different. Watch out for his spin, as he is most expected to bag a five-for.
Predicted Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Arsdheep Singh, Avesh Khan
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is in good form and the match against India will be an uphill task as they seldom face strong teams. They are grouped alongside India and Pakistan and there is very little chance for the team to make it to the next round, albeit they beat one of the teams.
Players to watch out for:
1) Babar Hayat:
Babar Hayat is one of Hong Kong’s trusted batters since his debut in the year 2014. He will look to carry on his good form and might have to steady the team if required. The 30-year-old has a century and four fifties to his name in this format and averages 27.69.
2) Yasim Murtaza:
The all-rounder has been in fantastic form of late and he will be a vital factor for Hong Kong if there is any chance for the team to defeat India. He picked two scalps and contributed forty-six runs with the bat in the last match and would look to carry on the same to the next match against India.
3) Nizakat Khan:
The skipper’s contribution will be crucial and he managed to score a vital half-century for his team in the last match. Khan has appeared in 50 international twenty-over matches for his team and has five fifties to his name amassing 939 runs.
Predicted Playing XI: Yasim Murtaza, Nizakat Khan (c), Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie (wk), Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Ayush Shukla
Pitch Report:
Dubai International Stadium’s surface is a tricky one and it will be a difficult pitch to bat on as witnessed in the first two matches. Teams winning the toss might elect to bowl and look to chase it while capitalizing on the initial movement.
Match Details:
Asia Cup 2022: Match 4, India vs Hong Kong
Date: 31st August 2022
Timing: 7:30 pm IST
Venue: Dubai International Stadium
Live Telecast: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney Hotstar
