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India Vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2022: When SKY-Kohli Carnage Stole The Limelight

Arnav Chopra

Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav (Source: @BCCI/X.com)Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav (Source: @BCCI/X.com)

Indian cricket teams have often featured in some tense matches over the past few years, while they have also played some games which have ended one-sidedly in their favour. When India last met Hong Kong in the Asia Cup 2022, there were some outstanding cricket performances from the Men in Blue.

Kohli-Surya Forged A 98-Run Partnership To Take India's Total To 192 After 20 Overs

It was the year 2022, and India were featuring in the Asia Cup, which was being played in the T20 format. In the fourth match of Group A, India played against Hong Kong, where the Rohit Sharma-led side were asked to bat first by Hong Kong and had a decent start but lost Rohit for 21, who was dismissed by Ayush Shukla.

Following Rohit's wicket, KL Rahul struggled during his innings, scoring a sluggish 36 off 39 deliveries, as he only managed two maximums in his knock.

With the runs not coming easily, in came Virat Kohli, who took the mantle upon himself and played a fluent knock, scoring 59 not out off 44 deliveries with one boundary and three maximums at a strike rate of 134.09.

Alongside Kohli, it was the powerful Suryakumar Yadav who played his 360-degree shots all around the ground in just 26 balls, scoring an unbeaten 68 with six boundaries and as many sixes, as his strike rate reached an impressive 261.54.

After being 94 for two after 13 overs, India went on to score a mammoth 192 for the loss of just two wickets by the end of their 20 overs, where Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav formed an outstanding 98-run partnership for the third wicket as Hong Kong struggled to bag another wicket. From being under pressure, India reached an outstanding stage where they were comprehensively ahead in the game.

Disciplined Indian Bowlers Kept Hong Kong Batters In Check

Now chasing a daunting target of 193 in the second innings, Hong Kong had a poor start, losing Yasim Murtaza in the second over, while skipper Nizakat Khan could only muster 10 off 12 deliveries. Despite that, Babar Hayat and Kinchit Shah played decently, with Hayat scoring 41 off 35 balls, while Kinchit could manage 30 off 28 deliveries.

The Indian bowlers kept the run rate in check, where Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a miserly spell of 1 for 15 in his three overs, while Ravindra Jadeja bowled outstandingly well, giving away 15 in his four overs, alongside bagging a wicket.

Meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal was economical too, letting go of just 18 runs in his four overs at an economy of 4.5. Despite Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan going for a few, India restricted Hong Kong to 152 for five after the end of the 20 overs, where Zeeshan Ali played decently well, scoring 26* off 17 deliveries.

In contrast, Scott McKechnie scored 16 not out off eight, but couldn't see their side over the line, as India won comfortably by 40 runs in the end.

This game, which looked largely in Hong Kong's favour initially, slipped away from their grip as they made a roaring comeback in the game and never let their opposition dominate again. Thanks to this outstanding partnership between Kohli and SKY, India got the crucial points in the Asia Cup 2022.