India eye victory against Minnows Hong Kong in 2018 Asia Cup
Date and Time : 18th September 2018, 5:00 PM IST
Venue : Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
India return to Asia after a long tour of England where they played some good cricket. India won the T20I series although lost the ODI and Test series’s.
Team India will now be eager for success in the Asia Cup, a title which they won back in 2016. India have a good track record in the Asia Cup tournaments and it should be enough to boast their Morales.
In their first game, they have got Hong Kong which really shouldn’t be a worry for them but it’s the game after against arch rivals Pakistan which is of outmost importance.
On the other hand, Hong Kong will be out their to just get experience. They know they can’t progress through but their participation alone is great for their cricket.
So far India and Hong Kong have met each other just once in ODI’s. India won that game.
Team news and possible line-ups
Hong Kong will likely retain their playing XI as from the previous game against Pakistan.
As for India, they will likely rotate their squad, giving rest to some of their key players.
Hong Kong XI : Rath (C), N. Khan, B. Hayat, C. Carter, K. Shah, E. Khan, A. Khan, McKechnie, Afzal, E. Nawaz, N. Ahmed.
India XI : R. Sharma (C), Rayudu, M. Pandey, D. Karthik, Dhoni (WK), K. Jadhav, A. Patel, B. Kumar, S. Thakur, K. Yadav, Chahal.
Prediction
I expect India to win this game and make a winning start to Asia Cup 2018.
