Asia Cup 2018, Match 4: India vs Hong Kong - Weather Forecast

India will begin their Asia Cup 2018 campaign against the minnows Hong Kong on September 18 (Tuesday), which will be the dress rehearsal for the all-important clash against Pakistan.

Meanwhile, India have been clinical dismantlers of Associate opposition. Although they will be without their talismanic run-scorer Virat Kohli, there are fewer chances that Hong Kong will pull off a spectacular.

Rohit Sharma, who expressed that he is nervous on the eve of the first game, will lead India for the first time in any major tournament. However, he has led India to Nidahas Trophy earlier this year in Sri Lanka. India will look to find a solution to their middle-order worries with the World Cup in sight. India will have five batsmen – Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, and Ambati Rayudu – fighting for three spots.

For Hong Kong, who have only just lost their ODI status this year, it’s a massive occasion and an exceedingly rare opportunity to face a cricketing superpower. They will be keen to put a good show before going down from this edition of the Asia Cup.

Weather Forecast

The weather continues to be prickly, hitting temperatures of 41 degrees Celsius. However, the real feel will be much more than that and the players will have to keep themselves hydrated. Furthermore, it has been tough for the players throughout this Asia Cup to bear this scorching heat.

The pitches in Dubai have been slow, and Rohit Sharma expects them to get even slower as the tournament progresses. As a result, India might play all-rounder Axar Patel in place of the incumbent Hardik Pandya.

The men in blues will look to start their Asia Cup campaign with a thumping win over Hong Kong.

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