IND vs HK: India proceed to Super Four with a clinical victory

Virat Kohli played a fabulous knock [PC: Twitter]

Riding on match-winning half centuries from Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli and a superb collective bowling performance, India handed Hong Kong a 40-run defeat in the fourth match of the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai today. 

Suryakumar’s onslaught powers India to a mammoth total

After being put into bat, India got off to a decent start, with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul adding 38 runs for the first wicket. While Rohit perished for a quick-fire 13-ball 21, Rahul crawled his way through to a disappointing 39-ball 36, before being dismissed by Mohammad Ghazanfar. 

Suryakumar played a brilliant knock [PC: Twitter]

However, what we witnessed after that was nothing short of sheer carnage from Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. The dynamic duo added 98 runs off just 42 balls, propelling India to a massive total of 192 runs. Suryakumar played the aggressor’s role in the partnership and slammed a blistering 26-ball 68*. On the other hand, Kohli found his sublime touch back, as he stroked a fluent 44-ball 59*. 

Ghazanfar and Ayush Shukla picked one wicket apiece for Hong Kong. 

Hong Kong fall short despite Babar Hayat's heroic knock

In reply, Hong Kong got off to a disastrous start, losing opener Yasim Murtaza in the second over. However, star batter Babar Hayat and skipper Nizakat Khan steadied the ship for them, adding 39 runs in just four overs. Babar hammered the Indian bowlers during his stay, hitting three fours and two gigantic sixes for his well-compiled 35-ball 41. 

Kinchit Shah in action [PC: Twitter]

After Babar fell prey to Ravindra Jadeja, Kinchit Shah, Zeeshan Ali and Scott McKechnie came up with vital contributions of 30, 26 and 16 runs, respectively. However, their valiant efforts could only reduce the deficit as Hong Kong finished at 152 for five in 20 overs. 

Four wickets were equally shared by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja and Avesh Khan, while the remaining dismissal came in the form of a run out. 

Brief Scores

India: 192/2 (20)
Suryakumar Yadav 68* (26), Virat Kohli 59* (44);
Mohammad Ghazanfar 1/19 (2), Ayush Shukla 1/29 (4)

Hong Kong: 152/5 (20)
Babar Hayat 41 (35), Kinchit Shah 30 (28);
Ravindra Jadeja 1/15 (4), Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/15 (3)

India won by 40 runs.

Also Read: IND vs HK: Virat Kohli registers joint most 50+ scores in T20Is