Top-ranked India face minnows Hong Kong

Probably 10 out of 10 would pick India as the runaway winner in their Asia Cup group stage game against Hong Kong in Dubai today. However, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will not be taking his opposition lightly, and the 35-year-old has his reasons.

In a video shared by Ashwin on his YouTube channel last Sunday, he reminded how Hong Kong gave India a tough competition when the two sides last faced off at the continental event in 2018.

In that ODI contest, Nizakat Khan, the current skipper of Hong Kong, forged a huge opening stand with then skipper Anshy Rath. Chasing 286, the duo put on 174 for the first wicket but then fell 26 runs short. To put things into context, Hong Kong, a team that did not even have an ODI status at that point, gave one of the top-ranked sides a run for their money.

"We should not take Hong Kong lightly because they gave us a terrific fight when they played against us the last time. [Hong Kong's] Ehsan Khan is a very good off-spinner. The quality is right up there with the likes of Mohammad Nabi," Ashwin said.

For Hong Kong, it would be about keeping the good work going from the Qualifiers as they were superb in the qualifying event and found ways to come out of the tough situation.

Hong Kong went through the recent Asia Cup Qualifiers unscathed and now have another crack at giving India and Pakistan a scare, at least. Their veteran 37-year-old off-spinner Ehsan Khan, who picked up 10 wickets in three matches in the Qualifiers, will be Hong Kong's biggest weapon in the Asia Cup as well.

For India, it would be an opportunity to confirm their Super 4 spot. And even though they must be wary, the top-ranked T20I side, India, couldn't have wished for an easier opponent who are ranked 20 in T20Is.

This will also be India's first T20I against Hong Kong.

When India batters face Hong Kong, obviously, the quality of Hong Kong bowling, to put it politely, won't match up to Pakistan, but there is always a fear as one doesn't exactly know what to expect from an unknown entity.

Without any doubt batter like KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma use this opportunity to the fullest to gain their confidence before the start of the Super Fours and business end of the tournament if Hong Kong can put up a fight against them.

Rohit has made it clear that experimentation will continue and hence one shouldn't be surprised if there is another batting order that could be tried out on Wednesday.

It would be interesting to see if Ravindra Jadeja is sent at No.4 position against Hong Kong or whether Rishabh Pant is tried in place of Dinesh Karthik, just to give him some game time.

Games like Hong Kong does help in beefing up stats and no player would like to sit out.

Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi could also get a look in, letting Yuzvendra Chahal and Jadeja cool their heels a bit.