After securing a spot in the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, India captain Rohit Sharma praised star batter Suryakumar Yadav and said that words would be short of describing his blistering innings.
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Suryakumar`s blistering 68*, Virat Kohli`s 59* and Ravindra Jadeja`s quick fielding helped India secure direct qualification to the Super Four phase of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 after beating Hong Kong by 40 runs here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
India outplayed Hong Kong in all departments and also became the second team to qualify for the Super four."We batted pretty well to start with and got to a very good score. Came out and bowled reasonably well, we could have done slightly better with the ball," Rohit Sharma said in a post-match presentation. Suryakumar`s batting blitz stood out.
The number four batsman hit a fifty in just 22 balls and ended India's innings with four sixes in the last over. "Suryakumar Yadav the kind of innings he played today, the words will be short. We have seen that with him every now and then.
He comes up with such kinds of knocks. He just comes out and bats fearlessly which is what the team expects from him. Some of the shots he played today are not written anywhere in the book. It was very pleasing to watch. Shot selection was also crucial. We know he can play all around the park," he added.
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"Talking about the match, chasing a target of 193, Hong Kong was at three wickets loss. Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja got the all-important wicket of Babar Hayat, who was smashing Indian bowler to keep Hong Kong alive in the match. Jadeja then ended Nizakat Khan's stint with a direct hit on stumps. Arshdeep Singh gave India a big breakthrough as he dismissed opener Yasim Murtaza.
Hong Kong tried to make a comeback in the game through Zeeshan Ali, who was in red-hot form and slammed many big shots but it was too late as India already clinched the match by 40 runs as well as the Super Four spot in the tournament. Earlier, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav starred for India with the bat as the Men in Blue posted a total of 192/2 against Hong Kong in an Asia Cup Group A match. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 59 off 44 balls and Suryakumar slammed 68 not out off 26 and the duo stitched an unbeaten 98 runs to rescue India, who were down to 94 for two under 15 overs.
