Fifties from Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli helped Team India down a valiant Hong Kong side, to become the second team to qualify for the Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2022. India join Afghanistan in the next round, as they confirmed their top-place finish in group A, after beating Nizakat Khan's side by 40 runs.
SKY scored an unbeaten 68 off just 26 balls, and Virat Kohli (59* off 44) worked in tandem to propel India to a total of 192/2 in their respective 20 overs, after being asked to bat first.
In reply, Hong Kong put in a valiant effort, but they fell short by 40 runs, which means their match against Pakistan on September 2, becomes a do-or-die game for both sides.
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Hong Kong were off to a good start with the bat, but the 193-run target proved to be too much for them, ending at 152 for five in the stipulated 20 overs.
Suryakumar orchestrated the carnage while Kohli made an unbeaten 59 from 44 balls, his first international fifty in more than six months, as India amassed 78 runs in the final five overs.
Arshdeep Singh (1/44) gave the breakthrough, while Ravindra Jadeja effected a direct hit to remove skipper Nizakat Khan and then dismissed their top-scorer Bahar Hayat (41) to derail their chase.
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Hong Kong's scoring rate dropped considerably after the powerplay, with just 14 runs coming in four overs, and the Indian spinners made things difficult with Jadeja (1/15 in 4 overs) leading the show in a tidy spell, three days after he impressed with the bat against Pakistan.
This was India's fifth consecutive win in T20Is as they entered the Super 4 as Group A toppers with two victories from as many matches. India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in their opener on Sunday.
With inputs from PTI
