Asia Cup: Pakistan win toss, elect to bat first against Hong Kong
KARACHI: Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat against Hong Kong in a Group B opening match of the Asia Cup at the National Stadium here on Tuesday.
Keeping in mind captain Shoaib Malik's pleas to guard against complacency, Pakistan chose a full-strength side for this game.
Tabarak Dar, Hong Kong's captain, wasn't too concerned about losing the toss, saying he wanted to bowl first in any case. However, with hardly anything in the pitch for the bowlers, Hong Kong face a tall order in keeping a formidable Pakistan batting in check.
Their strength lies in the spin department, and much will depend on Nadeem Ahmed, the 20-year-old off-spinner, and left-arm spinner Munir Dar .The one thing in Hong Kong's favour is the fact that they have played a series of matches against Pakistan's domestic sides last month, and are hence used to the conditions in this country.
Teams:
Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt, Younus Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Rao Iftikhar, Sarfraz Ahmed, Sohail Tanveer, Umar Gul.
Hong Kong: Tabarak Dar (captain), Courtney Kruger, Afzaal Haider, Hussain Butt, Najeeb Amar, Sakhawat Ali, Zain Abbas, Nadeem Ahmed, Irfan Ahmed, James Atkinson (wk), Munir Dar.
India is the third team in the group. Defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates are placed in Group A, based in Lahore.
The top two teams from each Group will qualify for the Super League stages, where each side will play each other decide the July 6 finalists.