Asia Cup 2018: India avoid defeat, beat Hong Kong in hard-fought clash

DUBAI: The defending champions India defeated minnows Hong Kong by 26 runs in Asia Cup's thrilling clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

After being asked to bat first by Hong Kong, India started well as opener Shikhar Dhawan notched up his 14th One-Day International (ODI) century to help his team  reach  285/7 in Group A match.

While chasing a challenging target of 286 runs, Hong Kong got off to a brilliant start with their openers Nizakat Khan (92) and skipper Anshuman Rath (73) scoring impressive half-centuries to put India on the back foot.

The duo stitched an opening stand of 174 runs, which also became the highest first-wicket stand recorded by the associate nation in the ODI cricket.  However, after the fall of their wicket, middle and lower order fell in quick succession without troubling the scoreboard much.

For India, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and debutant pacer Khaleel Ahmed scalped three wickets each.   For Hong Kong, Kinchit Shah was the pick of the bowlers, scalping three wickets.