Asia Cup 2022: "There was pin-drop silence at the stadium" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's dismissal against Pakistan

Aakash Chopra revealed that the crowd at the Dubai International Stadium went completely silent when Virat Kohli was dismissed in India's opening fixture of the Asia Cup 2022 against Pakistan on Sunday (August 28).

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Kohli looked a bit rusty early on, getting a lot of edges. He suggested that the right-handed batter needed some luck, given his current form.

Chopra added that the senior batter's knock did look impressive later as he scored crucial runs for the side during a critical juncture. He said:

"There was pin-drop silence at the stadium when Virat Kohli got out. Looking at the first ten balls he played, it seemed like there was no middle on his bat, it just had edges. There were a lot of edges and he even got a chance early on because of the dropped catch. But he needed some luck. In the end, his knock did look good."

Kohli got a major reprieve on his second ball of the game after Fakhar Zaman put down a difficult chance at second slip. The right-handed batter went on to score 35 runs off 34 deliveries before falling to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz in the 10th over of the run chase.

"I don't think India will make any changes" - Aakash Chopra on playing XI for the match against Hong Kong

Aakash Chopra opined that the Men in Blue will go with the same starting XI for their upcoming Asia Cup 2022 match against Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31). He mentioned that a new pitch will be used for the fixture and predicted that the pacers will play a major role on the surface.

Chopra also highlighted that Hong Kong gave India a tough fight during their previous encounter in 2018 and suggested that they could do the same on Wednesday. He added:

"I don't think India will make any changes to their playing XI. They would want to stick to the same players unless there is an injury. A new track will be used and I think fast bowlers will have a lot of fun on this surface. But we must not take Hong Kong lightly. They did give us a tough time in 2018."

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India and Hong Kong last faced each other in the Asia Cup in 2018. Although Hong Kong gave the Men in the Blue a good fight in the ODI fixture, they lost the game by 26 runs.