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Asia Cup: Suryakumar, Kohli star as India beat Hong Kong by 40 runs to seal Super Four spot

Editor — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 15:14:05 +0000

DUBAI: In the 26 balls he faced against Hong Kong on Wednesday, Suryakumar Yadav demonstrated all the right things about his T20 batting while exposing everything that is not quite right with India’s top-three. Surya walked out to bat at the end of the 13th over with the scoreboard reading 94/2 after KL Rahul went for a 39-ball 35 and Virat Kohli still striking just about run-a-ball.
When he walked off unbeaten with 68 runs to his name and Virat Kohli by his side with a 59 off 44, he had propelled India to 192/2. In doing so, Surya had put the game well beyond the spirited Hong Kong team who finished with 152/5 having cashed in on India’s two inexperienced bowlers Arshdeep Singh (1/44) and Avesh Khan (1/53). India’s head coach Rahul Dravid, wearing a particularly unamused look in the dugout, will go into the Super 4s with the same set of unresolved issues.
The pitch and Hong Kong’s inexperienced bowling looked non-conducive to the modern-day slam-bang T20 batting till the time Surya took strike. Captain Rohit Sharma’s dismissal for 21 off 13 earlier in the innings at mid-on was indicative of a double-paced pitch.
It was one of those days when the scoreboard belied the intent of the Indian batters, barringSurya. The first two balls he faced, he swept left-arm spinner Yasim Murtaza for boundaries on either side of long-leg. All of a sudden, the pitch started looking different while he was on strike.
This match was always about oiling the machinery. Virat Kohli did get to spend enough time in the middle and got the runs under his belt. But if his arduous partnership with Rahul is anything to go by, there was a heavy layer of rust on the top order.
It was bizarre till the time Rahul and Kohli batted together. The match was reduced to having a knock in the nets to get a feel of the ball. It seemed spending time in the middle was a greater priority than getting a move on. Perhaps, knowing the batting credentials of Hong Kong gave them that liberty.
The duo waited for balls to land absolutely in their zone to go for the big shots. Credit to Hong Kong bowlers, they offered very few. In his 44-ball knock, Kohli found the fence only four times. Three of those times he cleared the deep mid-wicket stand. That’s evidence of being cautious.
Surya’s innings showed it was neither the bowling nor the pitch. It was about the intent and confidence in his skills that shredded the inexperienced team.
For teams like India, matches like these are meant to flex their muscles to the extent where it looks like they are bullying the newbies. For 13 overs, Hong Kong must have believed they got away. Surya moved around the crease on his nimble foot, targeted all parts of the ground and ended up bullying them smashing four out of his six sixes in the last over medium-pacer Haroon Arshad even as Kohli looked content knocking the ball down the ground with a straight bat.
Hopefully, the time spent in the middle has shaken off the rust for Kohli and Rahul. The big teams won’t offer so much time to ease into an innings.

News Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Asia Cup 2022, India vs Hong Kong: Best Fantasy playing XI, possible playing XIs, full squads and more

Editor — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 07:32:59 +0000

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It’s time for India’s second match at the ongoing 2022 Asia Cup. The Men in Blue will play Hong Kong this evening in Dubai, who beat the UAE to qualify for the tournament.
Overall India and Hong Kong have played two matches at the Asia Cup and both were played in the 50 over format. In June 2008, India thrashed Hong Kong by a record 256 runs in Karachi. This remains the largest margin of victory in terms of runs by any team at the Asia Cup.
Then in 2018, Hong Kong pushed India hard, eventually falling short of the target by less than 30 runs. India won that match in Dubai by 26 runs.
India are the defending champions, having beaten Bangladesh in the last edition’s final in 2018 by 3 wickets.
In T20I cricket, the two teams will be playing each other for the first time. Match will begin at 7:30 PM IST in Dubai.
India are the Number 1 ranked T20I team in the world, while Hong Kong are ranked 20th.
If you are an avid fantasy cricket player you must be wondering who to pick in your playing XI tonight.
Here’s a quick look at a possible fantasy playing XI combination that you might consider:
Fantasy playing XI: Possible combination –
Top order batters: Rohit Sharma, Babar Hayat, KL Rahul
Middle order batters: Suryakumar Yadav & Kinchit Shah
Wicket-keeper: Scott McKechnie
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya (c) & Nizakat Khan
Pacers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh
Spinners: Yuzvendra Chahal
Possible Playing XIs for India and Hong Kong:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal & Arshdeep Singh
Hong Kong: Yasim Murtaza, Nizakat Khan(c), Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Scott Mckechnie (wk), Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Ayush Shukla
Full squads of India and Hong Kong at the Asia Cup 2022:
India: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
Standby Players: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar.
Hong Kong: Nizakat Khan (c), Kinchit Shah (vc), Aftab Hussain, Aizaz Khan, Ateeq Iqbal, Babar Hayat, Dhananjay Rao, Ehsan Khan, Haroon Arshad, Scott McKechnie (wk), Mohammad Ghazanfar, Mohammad Waheed, Ayush Shukla, Ahan Trivedi, Wajid Shah, Yasim Murtaza, Zeeshan Ali
Pitch:
The pitch in the first two games did a lot. Bowlers are likely to dominate
Weather Conditions:
Oppressive playing conditions will prevail with temperatures in the high 30s and humidity in the mid 40s
Where to watch and follow Asia Cup 2022 matches:
You can follow live match commentary, updates, latest stats, toss results, player analysis and more on: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports
TV: All Asia Cup matches will be telecast on the Star Sports channels – Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD (English), Star Sports 1 Hindi and Star Sports 1 Hindi HD (Hindi)
Live Streaming: On the Disney+ Hotstar website and the app

News Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Asia Cup 2022: I was mentally ready to bat at number four, says Ravindra Jadeja

Editor — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 01:31:16 +0000

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DUBAI: His promotion to number four in the batting order was a masterstroke from the team management and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who made a crucial 29-ball 35 in India’s tense win over arch-rivals Pakistan, on Tuesday said he was “mentally ready” for the challenge.
Against Pakistan, Jadeja came out to bat after opener KL Rahul and captain Rohit Sharma got out for nought and 12 respectively. He shared 52 runs with Hardik Pandya (33 not out) for the fifth wicket before the latter took India past the target of 149.
“Of course (I knew it was coming)… I knew such a situation would come after seeing their playing XI. I was mentally ready. Luckily, I scored those crucial runs for the team,” Jadeja said of India’s famous five-wicket win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup opener on Sunday.

“I was the only lefty in the top-seven, sometimes when left-arm spinners and leg-spinners are bowling, it’s easy for a left hander to take chances.
“I just play according to the situation whenever I go out there. In T20, you don’t have much time to think, you just go out there and express yourself. I just have to score runs while batting and give breakthroughs when it’s needed.”
Asked if it (his batting at No. 4) is the way forward, Jadeja said: “It depends on the situation and the opponent’s bowlers.”
Jadeja was promoted to negate the spin duo of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz as both of them turned the ball away from a right-hander. The move paid off as Jadeja took India out of trouble after they lost Rohit and Virat Kohli (35) for the addition of just three runs to be 53/3 inside 10 overs.

Jadeja consolidated India’s chase with a 36-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav (18) in the middle overs before he and Hardik put on the match-winning 52-run partnership.
Asked what he and Hardik discussed while batting, he said: “India-Pakistan matches are always high pressure games. You have high expectations.
“I don’t think there was anything much to discuss, such things happen in T20 format. Everyone contributed in batting, bowling and catches. There was not much to discuss and dissect.”
While bowling, both he (2-0-11-0) and Yuzvendra Chahal (4-0-32-0) returned wicketless but Jadeja said they did well to check the run flow.

“Spinners also did well, sometimes you do well but don’t get wickets. The T20 format is like that. As a bowling unit, we did well.
“It was a collective effort. Spinners didn’t get any wicket but they restricted the run flow. Those 15-20 runs were crucial in the end,” he said.
Asked about the concluding group match against qualifiers Hong Kong on Wednesday, Jadeja said: “We are going to play against Hong Kong with a positive mindset and we will not take them lightly.
“On a given day, anything can happen in T20Is. We will give our best and play positively,” he said.

Getting Match Ready! #TeamIndia | #AsiaCup2022 | #INDvHK https://t.co/DuPwgatgQc

— BCCI (@BCCI) 1661869273000

Jadeja had a forgettable IPL for Chennai Super Kings and there was talk about whether he will be selected for the T20 World Cup in Australia or not.
Asked how he dealt with such rumours, Jadeja said: “Beech mein toh khabar aayi thi ki main mar gaya hoon! Ish se badi khabar toh ho hi nahi sakti… (There was a rumour in between that I’m dead — can it be anything bigger).”
He was referring to the news of the death of 61-year-old former Saurashtra cricketer Rajendra Jadeja in May when the India all-rounder fell victim to the “fake news” on social media.
“As I said, I don’t think much. I just have to go out there and perform. I practice hard and improve on my weaknesses, that helps in actual match situations. That’s all I do, day in and day out — bowling, batting and fielding,” he concluded.

News Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com