Asia Cup 2022: Playing XI when India last played a game against Hong Kong
Hong Kong qualified for the Asia Cup 2022 after winning the qualifiers. They will be a part of the group that includes India and Pakistan as the other teams. In this article, we take a look at the playing XI when India last played a game against Hong Kong.
India and Hong Kong have never been involved in a T20I game. In ODIs, the team last played a game back on 18th September 2018. That was also in the Asia Cup. It was a different-looking team back then for India.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (C) and Shikhar Dhawan
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were the openers in the playing XI when India last played a game against Hong Kong. India had its premier openers for the Asia Cup in 2018. Hence, both Dhawan and Rohit were part of the XI. While skipper Rohit made 23 runs, Shikhar Dhawan scored a century and won the Player of the Match Award. This pair is still the preferred combination for India at the top.
Middle-Order: Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni (WK)
Ambati Rayudu was in the Indian ODI XI in the build-up to the 2019 ODI World Cup. However, he eventually lost a spot in the squad. Usually, Virat Kohli plays for India at No.3 but the then Indian skipper was rested for the event. Hence, it was Rayudu who was in the squad. In this game, Rayudu scored 60 runs and helped the team. While Dinesh Karthik scored 33 runs while batting at No.4, MS Dhoni did not have a great outing as he got out without troubling the scorers.
All-Rounders: Kedar Jadhav
There was no genuine all-rounder in the playing XI when India last played a game against Hong Kong. Playing at No.6, Kedar Jadhav was the last genuine batter in the XI. In the bowling department, as well, Kedar contributed and hence, we have included him in this department. Kedar scored 28 runs and then gave away 28 runs in the seven overs he bowled. His contribution with the ball was vital because Shardul Thakur was having an off day.
Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed and Yuzvendra Chahal
Team India had five genuine bowlers for this encounter against Hong Kong. This strategy is a rarity right now but on many occasions, the management has had to resort to these tactics. India had made 285 runs in the first innings and the bowlers did struggle to contain Hong Kong, who lost the game by just 26 runs. Both Chahal and Khaleel picked three wickets each while Kuldeep Yadav collected two wickets.