How can Hong Kong be the giant killers against India?

The Afghanistan team’s upset win over Sri Lanka has opened up this year’s Asia Cup. As a result of that shocking result, Afghanistan has qualified for the next super 4s stage while Sri Lanka had their earliest exit from Asia Cup on the third day of the tournament.

Afghanistan’s giant-killing act must have rattled team India a lit bit as they are up against minnows Hong Kong today. Hong Kong is hypothetically in with a chance to upset India. Though it is far fetching to imagine that happening, funny things have happened in cricket as in the case of the Afghanistan Vs Sri Lanka match.

This article is an afterthought after witnessing the Afghanistan act of giant-killing. This article is an attempt to analyze the realistic chances of Hong Kong.

Factors favouring Hong Kong

The Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath

#1. The Indian one day specialists have assembled together as a team after a long gap of 2 months. Their form and fitness is an unknown quantity at this early stage of the tournament. Besides K.L. Rahul in batting and Jasprit Bumrah in bowling, there is an ambiguity surrounding the form of other players.

Both Rahul and Bumrah are a tired lot after the grueling tour of England. This is the right time for Hong Kong to strike.

#2. Team India are without their regular captain Virat Kohli, and in his absence, the batting looks brittle. Hong Kong should take advantage of Kohli’s absence.

#3. Hong Kong have played 82 matches of Associate Cricket in U.A.E, while India have so far played only 2 matches in U.A.E. The Hong Kong players are more used to the conditions prevailing in U.A.E.

#3. Hong Kong have got nothing to lose as no one expects them to get it across India. They have been given international recognition by the ICC only for this Asia Cup alone. They have everything to gain by playing fearless and aggressive cricket and impress upon the cricket world.

This should bring a fearless approach to Hong Kong’s cricket. All the pressure is on India to win and leave behind this match out of their mind. Pressure can do strange things even for experienced cricketers.

What Hong Kong should do to win?

Win the toss – The ICC should do away with the toss in case weaker teams are involved. That is to say, the weaker team should be given the option to do whatever they wish to do, whether to bat or bowl. But that is a topic for another article.

To start with, Hong Kong should win the toss if they have any realistic chance of winning the match. On Rohit Sharma’s part, he should not be adventurous at the toss and should he win the toss, India should bat first.

Bat first- Should Hong Kong win the toss, they should have no hesitation in batting first. Majority of the giant-killing acts in the past have been done by minnows while batting first.

Hong Kong’s decision at the toss should not be influenced by what happened in their first match against Pakistan when they batted first. Any cavalier approach by the Hong Kong captain at the toss would result in disaster.

Put runs on the board- Hong Kong should not only bat first but should also put runs on the board. The Hong Kong batsmen should not get bogged down in the middle and should aim for a minimum of 225 runs to be competitive.

Remove the Indian openers early – The Hong Kong bowlers should aim to remove the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Dhawan at the earliest opportunity. Once the openers are out of the way, India will struggle to reach the target in the absence of Virat Kohli.

Field well – The one aspect of the game where the minnows of cricket are found wanting is their fielding efforts. If Hong Kong fancies their chances of an upset, the fielders should convert the catches that come their way and they should be on their toes in ground fielding.

The spinners should come to the party – The Hong Kong spinners should come to the party in helpful conditions to have their say on the match. But, it is easier said than done against Indian batsmen.

To conclude, there are lots and lots of ifs and buts if Hong Kong have any realistic chances of causing an upset. So many things go in their favour to fancy an upset. They can take inspiration from the performance of Afghanistan.

One can safely say that the probability of two giant-killing acts happening on two consecutive days is next to nil. The Afghan upset must have made the Indians nervous.