It was the middle of the first innings in Dubai. India had already made 70/1 against Hong Kong. India‘s opening batter KL Rahul made 31 of 30 balls. While at the other end Kohli made 15 of 18 balls. Both the batters were together for 32 balls and made 31 runs out of the balls played. However, the skipper Rohit Sharma walked back to the pavilion after a quick fire of 13 balls 21. Although through this partnership stand the opponents conceded only one boundary.
In the match, there was also a point where India was struggling to take innings at a good pace. Also, there were no attacking shots. India had one 22-over in the powerplay and added as many high runs as possible. Although this performance was justified, KL Rahul returned from an injury and Virat Kohli was looking to get back in the groove. That time was not good for being in the middle. All the work was against the two batters. The pitch was continuously getting slower and slower.
On top of that Hong Kong brought spinners from both ends to trouble the batters. Hong Kong somewhat already knew batters are not comfortable with spin bowlers. After 10 overs India could only manage to post 70/1. It was clear that the men in blue didn’t want instead didn’t expect this. Although India started to attack the bowlers, they couldn’t be very effective. India also lost a wicket in form of KL Rahul who made 39 of 36 balls. Both batters posted a partnership of 56 from 49 balls. Although India lost the wicket this also turned out to be the breaking point. Suryakumar who had just joined the crease started to smash the ball everywhere in the crowd. Kohli on the other end also started to fire. It was all due to SuryaKumar and Kohli’s contribution that India made 192/2 at the end of the first innings.
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