Asia Cup 2018: Match 2, Pakistan vs Hong Kong, Preview- Can the newcomers defy the inevitable in the battle of mismatch?

This will be the teams' third face-off after 2004 and 2008.

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Hong Kong team celebrates a wicket. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Pakistan are one of the strong contenders to win this year’s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Their recent form has also been stupendous, to say the least. Sarfraz Ahmed’s men comprehensively rolled over Zimbabwe in the five-match series and will be favourites when they lock horns against qualifiers Hong Kong tomorrow at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Last time around, the Men in Green were unable to qualify for the final after finishing third in the points table owing to defeats against Bangladesh and India respectively and will be keen to turn their fortunes around. On the contrary, Hong Kong will make their third appearance in the event after 2004 and 2008. In the qualifying round, they won three out of their five matches.

Their victory against UAE in the closely-fought final will keep them in a good stead ahead of the event. However, Pakistan won’t be an easy proposition for them and they will be up against it. In their last two meeting, the Men in Green have knocked over their opponents without much fuss and Pakistan will look to start the tournament in a resounding manner.

Team Combination

Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq are the openers with Babar Azam, who has an impressive record in the UAE, to come at number three. Shoaib Malik is likely to sit out and all-rounder Haris Sohail may get an opportunity. The batting has depth with the likes of Faheem Ashraf at number eight. Along with four speedsters, Shadab Khan is the lone tweaker in the lineup.

Predicted XI

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (C & wk), Haris Sohail, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan

Hong Kong

Captain Anshuman Rath is the fulcrum of the team and him along with Babar Hayat remain to be key components. The rest of the batters didn’t quite fire and their role will also be crucial. In the bowling department, Nadeem Ahmed was effective in the qualifiers with his left-arm spin and his team will be looking up to him. The onus will also be on Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz and Aizaz Khan.

Predicted XI

Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath (C), Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Christopher Carter, Ehsan Khan, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie (wk), Tanwir Afzal, Ehsan Nawaz, Nadeem Ahmed

Players to watch out for

Fakhar Zaman- Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman has played only 18 matches and has already hemorrhaged 1065 runs at a colossal average of 76.07. The left-hander took the Zimbabwean bowlers to the cleaners in the erstwhile series and he is expected to be a brute force to reckon with even in the ongoing event. It will be interesting to see the tactics employed by Hong Kong in order to restrict the swashbuckling batter.

Anshuman Rath- Hong Kong

With 736 runs in 16 matches, Rath is currently his team’s second highest run scorer. He was in ominous form in the qualifiers as well having notched 209 runs in six matches with a century against UAE. Pakistan have a power-packed bowling attack, especially in the fast bowling department and Rath will have a tough task ahead of him to perform with the willow.

Stat Attack

0– Number of matches Hong Kong have won out of 4 matches in the Asia Cup.

27– Runs Babar Azam needs to complete 2000 ODI runs.

Head to Head

Matches – 2 | Pakistan Won – 2; Hong Kong Won – 0 | N/R – 0

Broadcast details

TV – Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1

Live streaming– Hotstar

Match Timings – 05:00 PM IST, Local Time 03:30 PM

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