India 192 for two (Suryakumar 68*, Kohli 59*, Ghazanfar 1-19) beat Hong Kong 152 for five (Hayat 41, Kinchit 30, Bhuvneshwar 1-15, Jadeja -15) by 40 runs
After being put in, India struggled to power the tempo on the ball on a sluggish floor. But as the sport progressed, the pitch appeared to ease out. Suryakumar cashed in on that, smashing six fours and as many sixes to submit 68 not out in simply 26 balls. Kohli, too, discovered his timing after a sluggish begin and completed unbeaten on 59 off 44. His knock included one 4 and three sixes. The pair added an unbroken 98 in simply 42 balls, propelling India to 192 for two.
From there on, it was at all times going to be an uphill job for Hong Kong. Despite scoring 51 for two within the powerplay, they have been behind the asking price, and as soon as the sphere unfold out, their scoring price dipped additional. In the top, they may handle solely 152 for five.
However, it was a removed from excellent sport for India. Apart from a sluggish begin, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh regarded off color. Avesh gave away 53 from his 4 overs, and Arshdeep went for 44 from his quota. Both picked up a wicket every, although.
India’ sluggish begin
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul began slowly; India managed simply six runs within the first two overs. Rohit broke the shackles by leaping out of his crease to seamer Haroon Arshad and launching him for a straight six. Rahul joined him later within the over when he dispatched a free hit over deep midwicket. Off the final ball, Rohit hit a 4 to make it 22 from the over.
Ayush Shukla broke the stand within the fifth over when Rohit mistimed an offcutter to mid-on. He scored 21 off 13 balls however Rahul was struggling for timing on the different finish. Kohli too discovered it troublesome to get going. At one stage, Rahul was on 21 off 25, Kohli on 12 off 14, and India hadn’t managed a boundary for 22 balls. Rahul ended that drought with a six off Aizaz Khan however regardless of that India solely acquired to 70 for 1 on the ten-over mark.
Suryakumar lights up the evening
Kohli confirmed indicators of aggression after the midway stage, hitting Mohammad Ghazanfar for a 4 and a six in successive overs from the legspinner. Ghazanfar, although, ended Rahul’s wrestle by having him caught behind for 36 off 39 balls.
That introduced Suryakumar to the center, and he swept the primary two balls he confronted, from Yasim Murtaza, for fours. That was simply the teaser, and shortly he confirmed his full vary. In the sixteenth over, he hit Aizaz over quick third for 4 earlier than scooping him for a six, off consecutive balls. A couple of overs later, he flicked Shukla over deep sq. leg to maneuver to 41 off simply 17 balls.
Kohli, in the meantime, introduced up his fifty off 40 balls. Three balls after reaching the landmark, he slog-swept Ehsan Khan for a 91-metre six however it paled compared to Suryakumar’s dazzling strokeplay.
In the final over of the innings, Suryakumar hit Haroon’s first three deliveries for sixes – the second took him to his fifty off simply 22 balls and was arguably the shot of the day. He had initially formed up for a scoop however seeing Haroon bowl it full and huge, he modified his shot and lofted it over deep cowl. The fourth ball was a dot, and Suryakumar pulled the following one over quick nice leg for an additional six. Haroon escaped with a pair off the ultimate ball however India already had a frightening whole.
Arshdeep bounced out Yasim within the second over however Babar Hayat’s energy-hitting took Hong Kong previous 50 within the sixth over. The tall proper-hander smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Avesh over their heads for a six off every. In the sixth over, he took on Arshdeep, hitting him for 2 fours.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Jadeja then conceded solely 14 within the subsequent 4 overs. That left Hong Kong with a monumental job of getting 128 from the final ten.
The chase peters out
At the top of the powerplay, Babar was on 29 off 17 however might handle solely 12 off the following 18 balls he confronted. Jadeja despatched him again when he miscued a minimize to backward level. Kinchit Shah and Aizaz supplied some resistance by including 31 off 22 balls for the fourth wicket however it was too little to bother India. In the ultimate two overs, Zeeshan Ali and Scott McKechnie hit a flurry of boundaries however that was too little too late to have an effect on the ultimate outcome.
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo