Asia Cup 2018, India vs Hong Kong: India to bat first, Khaleel Ahmed handed debut

Follow the live match updates: 

# Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan open the innings for India. 

# Rajasthan’s 20-year old spearhead Khaleel Ahmed debuts for India. The left-arm pacer has 28 wickets in 17 List A matches at an economy rate of 4.74.

Playing XI:

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(w), Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, K Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal. 

Hong Kong: Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath(c), Babar Hayat, Christopher Carter, Kinchit Shah, Ehsan Khan, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie(w), Tanwir Afzal, Ehsan Nawaz, Nadeem Ahmed. 

Hong Kong have won the toss and opt to bowl. 

After a gruelling English summer, India, without Virat Kohli, look to regroup and get their ODI combinations right before the crunch-Pakistan clash. Hong Kong, who lost their opener against Pakistan, would want to put up a fight against the five-time champions. 

The last time the two sides met (2008 Asia Cup), India belted Hong Kong by 256 runs at the National Stadium, Karachi. 

Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma may rest senior players, part of the English tour, and experiment with new inclusions. Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed could bring in the much-needed variety while Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav can boost the Indian middle-order.

Hong Kong, who have already experienced the searing Dubai heat and the pitch conditions, will aim to get their batting woes right in a do-or-die match against the fatigued Indians. 

Squad: 

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, K Khaleel Ahmed.

Hong Kong: Anshuman Rath(c), Aizaz Khan, Babar Hayat, Cameron McAulsan, Christopher Carter, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Arshad Mohammad, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Raag Kapur, Scott McKechnie, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Khan, Aftab Hussain.