India vs Hong Kong, Asia Cup 2018 - Player Ratings 

Ranked number two in ICC ODI Rankings, the mighty Indian team survived a scare against Hong Kong in their opening encounter of the Asia Cup 2018 played at the Dubai International cricket stadium, Dubai yesterday (18th Septemeber).

With a crucial game against Pakistan scheduled today, the one game against Hong Kong was supposed to be a mere formality. Indian openers began steadily, and the signs of a mammoth total were there. After Rohit Sharma’s fall, Shikhar Dhawan took control and with his scintillating century guided India till the 40-over mark.

It was from here that Hong Kong seized the game. They kept taking wickets regularly and halted India for just 285/7. In reply, their openers Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath stitched a record partnership of 174 runs for the first wicket, enough to send Indian fans into panic mode.

Kuldeep Yadav and the debutant Ibrahim Khaleel subsequently pegged back the Hong Kong hopes and brought India back into the game with wickets. The inexperienced associate nation failed to keep up with the required run-rate and conceded a 26-run defeat. Here are the player ratings for the match.

Hong Kong

Nizakat Khan - 10/10

The opener won hearts with his excellent knock of 92(115 balls). He attacked early in the powerplay overs and made sure the required run-rate was under control. The gallant effort against top bowling attack warrants the full rating.

Anshuman Rath - 9/10

Hong Kong’s captain was influential in the field with his timely bowling changes. Rath played the supporting role in the record-breaking opening partnership alongside Nizakat as well.

Babar Hayat - 6/10

The aggressive number three had no answers against the spin tricks of Kuldeep Yadav but somehow found a way struck a few boundaries to keep Hong Kong on track for the chase. Unfortunately, it was too little too late.

C Carter - 3/10

Carter had a difficult time at the pitch and was unable to cope with the pressure. He ended up scoring only 3 runs from 11 balls before edging Khaleel Ahmed.

Kinchit Shah - 9/10

Kinchit could not contribute much with the bat, but he was the star with the ball. He dismissed the threatening centurion Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to keep India’s total below 300.

Ehsan Khan - 8.5/10

The last man out for Hong Kong yesterday after scoring a fine 22, picked two crucial wickets with his off-breaks. He removed the dangerous Rohit Sharma early and then broke the hearts of UAE crowd as he dismissed MS Dhoni for a duck.

Aizaz Khan - 6/10

He took only one wicket that of Shardul Thakur but bowled with discipline to not give away more than 5.12 runs per over.

Scott McKechnie - 6/10

Unable to contribute significantly with the bat, McKechnie made no mistakes while keeping. He captured two excellent catches, especially the one of Ambati Rayudu.

Tanwir Afzal - 3/10

The opening bowler conceded 34 runs in his four overs and did not return to complete his quota of overs after a dismal performance.

Ehsan Nawaz - 5/10

Nawaz did remove Rayudu with a bouncer but was a bit expensive with the ball and gave away a no-ball and wide as well.

Nadeem Ahmed - 7/10

The left-arm spinner bowled a tight line and length to concede only 39 runs in his 10 overs.

India Media Session

India

Rohit Sharma - 6/10

After a promising start of 23 with four boundaries, Rohit Sharma failed to kick-on and was perished while executing another big shot. There were question marks over his captaincy as well.

Shikhar Dhawan - 9.5/10

Man of the match. The left-handed opener displayed the perfect balance of attack and defence as he strode away to a magnificent knock of 127 in sapping heat of Dubai.

Ambati Rayudu - 8/10

Taking Virat Kohli’s spot for this match, Rayudu displayed signs of rustiness. Despite a few good shots, his strike rate remained below 100 and it slowed down India’s charge.

Dinesh Karthik - 6/10

Playing as a specialist batsman, Karthik failed to make a positive impression in his knock of 33 from 38 balls.

MS Dhoni - 6/10

Much was expected from Dhoni the batsman but he was out for zero from three balls. The keeper did grab two good catches and completed a fine stumping off Kuldeep Yadav.

Kedar Jadhav - 6.5/10

Jadhav could not accelerate in the death overs which lead to India’s total not going past 300 runs but he did develop pressure on Hong Kong batting with his low-trajectory spin bowling.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar - 4/10

Bhuvi was not himself in yesterday’s match. He conceded 50 runs and failed to take a wicket in his nine overs.

Shardul Thakur - 1/10

The pace bowler was terrible with the ball yesterday. Shardul sprayed his pitch map all over the place and went for more than 10 runs per over in his four-over spell which included three no-balls.

Kuldeep Yadav - 9/10

The left-arm wrist spinner broke the deadlock by dismissing Anshuman Rath. He then bowled two maidens to build pressure on Hong Kong and picked another wicket later as well.

Yuzvendra Chahal - 8/10

The leg-spinner seemed to be ineffective at first but improved his performance towards the end and picked to three wickets to be on the winning side.

Khaleel Ahmed - 9/10

The debutant left-arm pace bowler took the all-important wicket of Nizakat Khan and bowled with great discipline to take three wickets in his first international match.