Hong Kong won the toss against India in their second match of Asia Cup 2022 and chose to bowl first. The Hong Kong team remained unchanged from their match against United Arab Emirates (UAE), while Rishabh Pant came into the squad to replace all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been rested for the match.

Hong Kong captain Nizakat Khan chose to bowl as he said, “We are going to bowl first. In Oman, we chased down well and that is what we are looking to do.” 

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“The last time we played India, it was a good game and we know we did some mistakes and want to make sure we capitalize on that. We have the same team we played against UAE,” he added.

“We were going to bowl first as well. Looks like an even covering of grass and we need to bat well to get to a good score,” Rohit Sharma said. 

“We just want to continue to do what we are doing as a team. We don’t want to look at the opposition and play good and hard cricket. We need to do our basics right, which is what got us a victory against Pakistan,” he added. 

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“One change, Hardik is rested considering how important he is for us, Pant comes in,” Sharma revealed.

India will also hope for a revival of KL Rahul’s form against Hong Kong. The Indian vice-captain recently returned from an injury and a COVID-19 infection. However, he has not been able to find his form back, as he was dismissed for a duck against Pakistan.

The inclusion of Pant means the Indian middle order has become even stronger. While Hardik Pandya is a very good batter, Pant has been India’s standout batter in the last couple of years. The wicketkeeper is also India’s only left-handed batter in the squad, which means his importance in the Super 4s will be paramount.

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India XI:  Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

Hong Kong XI: Nizakat Khan (captain), Yasim Murtaza, Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie(wk), Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Ayush Shukla, Mohammad Ghazanfar