Team India made it to the Super 4 stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 after defeating Hong Kong by 40 runs in their second Group A game on Wednesday in Dubai. They became the second team after Afghanistan to secure a spot in the next stage of the tournament.
Following the convincing victory on Wednesday night, captain Rohit Sharma surpassed Virat Kohli as India’s second most successful captain in the shortest format. The former has now 31 victories out of 37 games while Kohli achieved 30 wins in 50 encounters.
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Former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who helped India win 41 T20I matches under his captaincy from 72 matches, is still on top of the list.
On Wednesday, Suryakumar Yadav’s fireworks in the last seven overs did wonders for the Men in Blue. India were reduced to 94/3 in 13 overs when he walked in and completely changed the complexion of India’s innings. He remained unbeaten on 68 off 26 balls, hitting six fours and as many sixes.
While he hit 12 boundaries in his 26-ball knock, all other Indian batters managed to hit nine boundaries collectively in 96 balls. Suryakumar also shared a 98-run stand with Virat Kohli, who made an unbeaten 59 in 44 balls, hitting four and three sixes.
Skipper Rohit was pleased with the batting show, especially in the back end of the innings. But he felt that bowling could have been better.
“We batted pretty well to start with, got to a very good score. Came out and bowled reasonably well, we could have done slightly better with the ball,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
India are now the only unbeaten side in Group A as they defeated Pakistan in the opener and then outclassed Hong Kong. That makes the clash between the other two teams – Pakistan and Hong Kong – on Friday an eliminator as the losing team bids adieu to the tournament.
Similarly, the encounter between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will decide the second participant of the Super 4 stage from Group B. Both teams have lost their opening games to Afghanistan and are yet to register a victory in this tournament.
(With Agency Inputs)
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