Asia Cup 2022: "This will be a story that Hong Kong players will be telling their grandchildren" - Ajay Jadeja praises the underdogs' efforts against heavy-weights India
Former cricketer Ajay Jadeja praised Hong Kong's display during their 40-run loss against India at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday (August 31).
The underdogs made their way into the competition after defeating the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the final of the preliminary stage. The match against India was their first of the group stages.
Electing to bowl first, the Nizakat Khan-led side had a good grip over the contest courtesy of some tight bowling. However, they lost the plot in the death overs against Suryakumar Yadav's heroics, with the batter smashing an unbeaten 68 off just 26 balls.
The Asia Cup winners list for all the previous seasons is available here.
Hong Kong struggled to really get going in their pursuit of a 193-run target. However, their batters played well to post 152 in reply and lost only five wickets in the process.
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Hong Kong will be very proud of their chase, but the target proved a tad too high.
India grab the win after fabulous performances in both innings. 🔥
They book their place in the Super 4, after tonight.💪🏻😍
#INDvHK #ACC #AsiaCup2022 #GetReadyForEpic https://t.co/m1GgZIijfL
Crediting Hong Kong for making the most of the opportunity while playing against a top-ranked side, Ajay Jadeja said on Cricbuzz:
"This will be a story that Hong Kong players will be telling their grandchildren. They do not have the opportunity to play a team like this very often."
Jadeja added about Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal:
"This is the second consecutive match where Chahal has gone wicketless, but he was the best bowler against Hong Kong."
Chahal was the second most economical bowler on display with figures of 0/18 off his four overs. The leg-spinner conceded 32 runs in India's five-wicket win over Pakistan earlier with no return.
"Hong Kong should be proud of this performance" - Ajay Jadeja
Hong Kong's bowling attack largely restricted KL Rahul, who scored a patchy 36 runs off 39 deliveries, and got rid of Rohit Sharma early as well. They also managed to contain Virat Kohli for a significant period and were primed to restrict India to a par total of around 160, before Suryakumar set the stage on fire.
These action shots from the second innings 📸 speak for themselves! 🤩
#INDvHK was an #Epic battle indeed ⚔️
#ACC #AsiaCup2022 #GetReadyForEpic https://t.co/ZsffR8RNzJ
In the second innings, the Hong Kong batters made easy work of the likes of Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh. The duo conceded a combined total of 97 runs off their eight overs, which will be a source of concern for India.
Opining that the 40-run loss comes as an achievement for Hong Kong, Jadeja said:
"Hong Kong should be proud of this performance, not only proud but this is a big moment for them as well. It is not easy to qualify and then face one of the biggest teams in the world."
He concluded:
"At no stage did it look like they were over-awed. They were not competitive, but it is still an achievement for Hong Kong."
Hong Kong will next take on Pakistan in a do-or-die encounter at the Sharjah Cricket Ground on September 2.
What did you make of Hong Kong's performance against India? Let us know what you think.