Face-saving win for India ahead of Pakistan clash
dubai — India and Pakistan’s duel in the desert has been the dominant narrative in the run-up to the Asia Cup.
It has consumed each and every one with minnows Hong Kong be- ing just an afterthought. But on the evidence of Tuesday night, the Associates will be taken with more than a pinch of salt.
The tiny nation, southeast of China, gave top dogs India an almighty fright and were on course to creating one of the biggest upsets in cricketing history. But India managed to dig themselves out of the hole and a sense of normalcy was restored after all the madness.
India finally scraped over the line by 26 runs in their Asia Cup opener at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
That wasn’t the case though when Hong Kong had rocked up to the crease for the 286-run chase. An early finish had seemed on the cards but the Hong Kong openers Nizakat Khan and captain Anshuman Rath showed intent with a monster century-stand.
There were more than a few furrowed brows as Nizakat and Rath chipped away at that target with a 174-run alliance. But once Rath and Nizakat fell in quick succession after making a top-notch 73 and 92 respectively, things slowly began to unravel for India.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan’s 14th ODI hundred, Ambati Rayudu, Kedhar Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to the set-up and left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed’s impressive debut had marked the highlights for India.
Earlier, India were off to a flier but Hong Kong managed to rein them in towards the end to 285 for seven. Off-spinner, the 22-year-old Kinchit Shah will have a few tales to boast to his mates, after getting the scalps of Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to his name.
So too would be Ehsan Khan, who got India’s stand-in captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper MS Dhoni. Dhawan ended his century drought with a 120-ball 127, with 15 boundaries and two sixes, his first since the 109 he had scored against the South Africans in Johannesburg in February this year.
The only thing, if you can call it a worry would be MS Dhoni. India’s most successful captain and the only survivor from the 2006 squad that played here against Pakistan in the DLF Cup in Abu Dhabi, was out for nought.
Another worry would be Dhawan batting without a helmet for almost the entirety of his innings. The southpaw had relinquished the headgear when left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed, one of the flagbearers of Hong Kong cricket, had come on in the 13th over.
Batsmen swapping a helmet for a cap, is routine when spinners come into play but Dhawan didn’t have a helmet on when a fast bowler bowled.