Asia Cup 2018, India vs Hong Kong: Danger Dhawan guides Men in Blue to 285-7

Dubai: A sublime century from Shikhar Dhawan ensured a colossal target of 286 for Hong Kong to chase in their Asia Cup opener against India. After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Anshuman Rath’s men were unable to find a breakthrough as Rohit Sharma and Dhawan got the Men in Blue off to a decent start.

But it all changed with the introduction of spin as Ehsan Khan got rid of India skipper Rohit. Dhawan, later on, struck a massive 116-run stand with Ambati Rayudu for the second wicket as they took the game away from the minnows.

Ehsan Nawaz brought an end to Rayudu’s knock but another vital partnership between Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik left Hong Kong in tatters. However, KD Shah sparked an incredible turnaround with the wicket of the southpaw followed by Karthik. Ehsan soon dismissed MS Dhoni for a duck as India lost three wickets for eight runs with the scoreboard reading 248-5.

India also lost the plot in the death overs as they failed to get going with Hong Kong making an incredible comeback.

India 285-7 after 50 overs:

CAUGHT! Aizaz akes the pace off the ball and Shardul smacks it straight to the man at long off. India are crumbling apart.

India 277-6 after 49 overs:

WICKET! Bhuvneshwar Kumar aims for the big hit but gets does not connect well, leading to a top edge that lands at mid-wicket.

India 251-5 after 43 overs:

CAUGHT! Tossed up, Dinesh Karthik goes for the mighty slog and holes it out towards the man at deep backward point. Hong Kong are making a comeback.

India 247-4 after 41 overs:

WICKET! Ehsan Khan gets the big fish and MS Dhoni has to walk back. The batsman lunges forward and plays it fine but the keeper reacts in time and takes a sharp catch.

India 241-3 after 41 overs:

WICKET! End of a wonderful innings as Shikhar Dhawan falls victim to Kinchit. Attempts to drag it towards the on side but gets a top edge that flies towards Tanwir Afzal at backward point.

India 216-2 after 38 overs:

HUNDRED! 14th ODI ton for Shikhar Dhawan, who now stands on par with Yuvraj Singh. He's been scoring at a breezy pace despite the wicket slowing down.

India 163-1 after 30 overs:

CAUGHT! Bouncer pitched outside off and Rayudu tries to run it down fine towards third man. The ball kisses the glove and keeper Scott McKechnie takes it reverse-cupped.

India 152-1 after 28 overs:

FIFTY! Ambati Rayudu proves a point to the selectors as he brings up his 7th half-century in ODI cricket.

India 146-1 after 27 overs:

GOING STRONG! Hundred partnership comes up between Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu as Hong Kong grow frustrated.

India 109-1 after 20 overs:

DHAWAN REACHES FIFTY! 26th ODI half-century for the southpaw as he marks his return to white-ball cricket in sublime fashion.

India 56-1 after 10 overs:

FIFTY! Shikhar Dhawan steers India past the fifty mark with two consecutive boundaries. It will be interesting to see how they counter-attack the spinners along with maintaining a healthy run-rate.

India 45-1 after 8 overs:

CAUGHT! Spin introduced and the wicket comes instantly. Rohit dances down the track, aiming for a mighty slog but miscues his shot. Nizakat Khan, stationed at mid-off takes a dolly.

Preview:

Rohit Sharma-led Team India will look to kick off their Asia Cup 2018 campaign in style when they meet minnows Hong Kong in their opening match here on Tuesday.

Hong Kong, who advanced through the qualifiers, had a nightmarish start to their campaign having suffered an eight-wicket defeat to Pakistan a few day back.

The Men in Blue will miss the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli, who was given a break following the team’s full-fledged tour to the United Kingdom.

Uncapped Khaleel Ahmed will be eager to make his debut. Meanwhile, Ambati Rayudu returns to the Indian squad after a two-year absence.

Irrespective of the result, India will lock horns against Pakistan in their final group game on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after their opening match.

Toss:

Hong Kong have won the toss and decided to have a bowl.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma(Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, K Khaleel Ahmed.

Hong Kong: Anshuman Rath(Captain), Aizaz Khan, Babar Hayat, Cameron McAulsan, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Arshad Mohammad, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Raag Kapur, Scott McKechnie, Christopher Carter,Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Khan, Aftab Hussain, Tanveer Ahmed.

Live telecast and timings:

The match will be aired across various Star Sports channels. The match will start at 5 pm IST.

Live streaming:

The matches can be viewed live on Hotstar.com or on the Hotstar app.