Asia Cup 2018: Before Pak battle, India to sharpen tools vs Hong Kong today

India will look to finetune their playing 11 in today's Asia Cup 2018 match against Hong Kong before going into their much-anticipated clash with arch-rivals Pakistan

In Match 4 of Asia Cup 2018, India, led by stand-in captain Rohit Sharma, will lock horns with Hong Kong at Dubai International Stadium in United Arab Emirates today. A formidable India will be aiming to make short work of minnows Hong Kong in their Asia Cup opener before getting battle-ready for their much-anticipated clash against arch-rivals Pakistan. Even without regular skipper Virat Kohli, the Indian side is an intimidating one in the limited-overs format. However, Hong Kong, who were crushed by Pakistan’s disciplined bowling attack in their opening tie, will look to pose a stiff challenge. India will look to finetune their playing 11 against Hong Kong before going to the much-anticipated clash with arch-rivals Pakistan.
 
India Team News

Even as it is being seen by many as a warm-up game, Rohit Sharma and his colleagues won't want to take Hong Kong lightly. Even so, this may help India check their preparedness and make course correction, if necessary, before the all-important India vs Pakistan match the very next day.
 
For the past few years, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's waning batting skills have repeatedly come under scanner and this tournament will give everyone a fair idea of his ideal position. Whether he should be playing at number 5, 6 or 7 will be the big question before the Pakistan game. Possibly, Kedar Jadhav or Manish Pandey at number 5 and Hardik Pandya with his big hitting abilities at number 7 could prove ideal foil for the former India captain if he decides to come in at number 6.
 
Of late, India’s middle order has been an issue and needs to be sorted well ahead of the ICC World Cup in 2019. It is expected that K L Rahul will bat at number 3 in the absence of Virat Kohli. However, on flat decks with little movement from white kookaburra, the Indian batsmen could play their customary 'hitting on the rise' game with minimal footwork.
 
The Hong Kong encounter could be a match simulator for the likes of Dhawan, Rahul and Pandya, who will have to adjust to the different length and pace of the track. The Bumrah-Bhuvneshwar combination will be back in action along with the Kuldeep-Chahal spin combo, which has been a steady set-up for the past year.

 
Hong Kong Team news
 
On the other hand, Hong Kong will look to play the mandatory 50 overs to put a competitive total on the board if they bat first. Hong Kong lost their opener game against Pakistan by eight wickets in a truly one-sided showdown after they managed to put only 116 runs on the board batting first. On paper, theirs looks like a far inferior team when compared with the likes of Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul and Jadhav in the Indian batting line-up. On the bowling side for India are Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

 
Here are the playing 11 probables of both teams:
 
India playing 11: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul, Manish Pandey/ Dinesh Karthik/Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, M S Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzuvendra Chahal
 
Hong Kong playing 11: Anshuman Rath (capt), Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Tanwir Afzal, Aizaz Khan, Christopher Carter, Nadeem Ahmed, Scott McKechnie (wk), Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, K Shah

 
Asia Cup 2018 India vs Hong Kong match details
 
Match Date: 18 September, Tuesday
Match Time: 17:00 IST, 11:30 AM GMT, 03:30 PM LOCAL
Match Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai.
 
Asia Cup 2018 India vs Hong Kong match live streaming details
 
Pool A encounter of Asia Cup 2018, India vs Hong Kong, will be broadcasted on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD. It will be available for live streaming on Hotstar app. Tatasky subscribers can also watch the match on Tatasky mobile app.
 
India vs Hong Kong: Weather condition at Dubai International Stadium
 
Both the teams have to cope with extreme weather condition as the temperature may soar past 40 degree Celsius during the short day period when the match will be played. The night will see temperatures at 37 degree Celsius. In the first match Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim went through cramp during his 144-run stint at the middle.
 
India vs Hong Kong Toss prediction
 
Both the captains – Rohit Sharma and Anshuman Rath— will look to win the toss and bowl first. Since, at Dubai International Stadium teams batting first won only 9 matches while team bowling first won 16 matches.
 
Here are the squad of both the teams:

India Asia Cup 2018 squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, K Khaleel Ahmed
 
Hong Kong Asia Cup squad: Anshuman Rath(c), Aizaz Khan, Babar Hayat, Cameron McAulsan, Christopher Carter, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Arshad Mohammad, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Raag Kapur, Scott McKechnie, Tanveer Ahm