Asia Cup 2018: Three things you might have missed in overs 16-35 of India's innings
After being put into bat, India were off to a flying start, thanks to a brisk opening partnership between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. The duo was looking ominous before Rohit threw his wicket for 23.
Ambati Rayudu, who is returning to the Indian side, joined Dhawan at the crease and the pair put on a 116-run stand for the second wicket. Both the batsmen reached their individual fifties and when things were looking good for their centuries, Rayudu was dismissed in a freak manner for a well-made 60.
Dhawan, on the other hand, kept going and was unbeaten on 97 at the end of 35th over. India are 189/2 after 35 overs with Dinesh Karthik (7*) batting alongside Dhawan.
Let us take a look at three things you might have missed in overs 16-35 of India's innings.
Also read: Three things you might have missed in the first 15 overs of India's innings
Indian batsmen wearing cap against fast bowlers
Earlier, the batsmen walked out to bat wearing a cap even when they were up against bowlers bowling at an extreme pace. But, since the evolution of helmets, things changed and batsmen started wearing more protective gears. How often have you seen a batsman playing fast bowlers without wearing a helmet in the recent times?
Today, both Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu were taking on the Hong Kong bowlers just by wearing a cap. To be fair, the bowlers were bowling at around 120 kmph but, still, there are chances that they can miscue the shots and end up getting injured. So far, no such incidents happened so far in this game.
McKechnie's brilliance sends Ambati Rayudu back
Wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps for a fast bowler has become a trend these days. Hong Kong wicketkeeper Scott McKechnie was doing the same when Ehsan Nawaz was bowling. With batsman Ambati Rayudu not wearing a helmet, Nawaz surprised to bowl a bouncer but the ball was way outside the off-stump and Rayudu attempted an upper cut.
But, the ball didn't come up and ended up kissing the glove. McKechnie, who was standing up to the stumps, reacted quickly and took a reverse-cup catch. That was a brilliant catch by the wicketkeeper as he hardly had any time to react. This is something one may not see often in cricket, leave out international cricket.
No MS Dhoni at number 4
Before the start of the Asia Cup, everyone were curious to see how the Indian team is going to address the number 4 situation. Over the last couple of years, a lot of batsmen were tried at that spot and none of them could cement their place in that position.
A lot of fans and experts want MS Dhoni to be the permanent solution for India's number 4 woes. It was expected that Dhoni will walk in to bat at the fall of the second Indian wicket but to everyone's surprise, Dinesh Karthik walked out to bat at number 4 ahead of the former Indian skipper.