Asia Cup 2022: India's Playing XI from their last match against Hong Kong - Where are they now?
For the first time in T20I cricket history, India will lock horns with Hong Kong tonight in the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Hong Kong earned a place in India's group by winning a qualifying tournament earlier this month in Oman.
Four years ago, when the Asia Cup was played in the ODI format, Hong Kong won a similar competition and earned a place in India and Pakistan's group. While fans did not expect Hong Kong to give India a tough fight, the Anshuman Rath-led outfit almost pulled off an upset win over the Men in Blue.
India batted first and put up a 285-run total on the scoreboard in their 50 overs. Chasing 286 for the win, Hong Kong got off to a great start and were 174/0 at one stage.
A huge round of applause to Hong Kong for their resilience and determination in giving India a run for their money. Good innings from @SDhawan25 & @RayuduAmbati and Khaleel Ahmed was very impressive #AsiaCup
However, once India broke the opening stand, the rest of the Hong Kong batting lineup collapsed. In the end, Hong Kong finished with 259/8 and lost by 26 runs.
Fans will hope for another exciting match between India and Hong Kong when they meet in the Asia Cup 2022 tonight.
But before that game, here's a look at the Indian playing XI from their 2018 Asia Cup match against Hong Kong and where those players are now.
Openers for India in their last Asia Cup match against Hong Kong - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
India's Asia Cup 2022 skipper Rohit Sharma started the innings with Shikhar Dhawan against Hong Kong in 2018.
While Rohit lost his wicket to Ehsan Khan after scoring 23 runs, Dhawan went on to score a century. He aggregated 127 runs off 120 balls, smashing 15 fours and two sixes.
Rohit is likely to open the innings for India later tonight as well. However, Dhawan is not a part of the T20I squad.
Middle Order - Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), and Kedar Jadhav
India's middle-order in that match consisted of four batters who could also keep wickets.
Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik batted at numbers three and four, while MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav completed the middle-order.
Rayudu scored 60 runs in that match, while Karthik and Jadhav added a total of 61 runs. Unfortunately, Dhoni failed to score a single run as Ehsan Khan dismissed him for a duck.
Only Karthik is part of the current Indian squad for the 2022 Asia Cup. Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020, whereas Jadhav and Rayudu were dropped by selectors two years ago.
Bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, and Yuzvendra Chahal
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, and Khaleel Ahmed formed the pace attack for India in that match against Hong Kong. Both Kumar and Thakur returned wicketless, but Ahmed scalped a three-wicket haul.
Wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were the architects of India's win against Hong Kong in 2018. They took a total of five wickets in quick succession and brought India back into the match during the second innings.
Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed are not part of India's Asia Cup 2022 squad. They play in the IPL regularly but have not been regular members of India's team.
Meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are two of the main bowlers for India right now.
Will India win their first-ever T20I match against Hong Kong? Share your views in the comments below.