The Asia Cup continues on Monday ant Tuesday. Bangladesh take on Afghanistan in what should be a cracker of a game before India should grab a pretty straight-forward win over Hong Kong. James Richardson previews.
India will look to make the most of their perfect start to the Asia Cup when they face Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Before that Afghanistan will chase a second win in the opening match for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh vs Afghanistan | 30 August 2022 | Sharjah Cricket Stadium | 16:00
To Win Match
Bangladesh 67/100 | Tie 25/1 | Afghanistan 5/4
Bangladesh will get their Asia Cup campaign underway against an Afghanistan side that already put away Sri Lanka.
Left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi was the surprise package for Afghanistan in their opening match win and could be set to make waves at this tournament.
Bangladesh welcome back Shakib-al-Hasan after a long absence from the national team and have an intriguing mix of youth and experience.
Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi conceded just 26 runs between them in eight overs in their match against Sri Lanka and if Bangladesh show them similar respect they will be sunk.
Verdict: Afghanistan 5/4
Afghanistan were excellent against Sri Lanka and seem to thrive as supposed underdogs. Back them – at very good value – to beat Bangladesh on Monday.
India vs Hong Kong | 31 August 2022 | Dubai International Stadium | 16:00
To Win Match
India 1/100 | Tie 25/1 | Hong Kong 16/1
There really should be no other winner other than India here but sport is an arena in which anything can happen and so often does.
India proved too good for Pakistan in the opening match of the tournament and are the strong favourites to win the Asia Cup.
Hardik Pandya continued his brilliant 2022 form to make contributions with bat and ball last time out but India might rest some stars.
Hong Kong will simply have to play their boldest cricket and hope for the best as no arrangement of the players in the India squad would be considered weak.
Verdict: India 1/100
This would be an upset for the ages if India fail to win. It’d be best to wait for the in-running markets to open. If India bat first, back them to score 200+.
