India was in news after defeating Pakistan in the Pool C match of Hong Kong Sixes, but now the defeat against Kuwait has dealt a big blow to their campaign. The team led by Dinesh Karthik had to face a big defeat of 27 runs.
India is playing in Hong Kong Sixes and this time Dinesh Karthik has been given the captaincy. Stuart Binny, Abhimanyu Mithun and Robin Uthappa have once again been included in the Indian squad for the tournament.
Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was also scheduled to be a part of the Indian squad for the Hong Kong Sixes tournament; However, he was ruled out at the last minute due to injury and was replaced by batsman Robin Uthappa.
The Pool C encounter between Kuwait and India ended on an unexpected note as the Dinesh Karthik-led side lost the match by a huge margin of 27 runs. Chasing a total of 107 runs, the Indian team could score only 79 runs at the loss of 6 wickets.
Kuwait should be praised for the individual performances of its players as well as their extraordinary composure and tactical brilliance. In the six-a-side match, Yasin Patel and the rest of the players of Kuwait team displayed excellent batting.
Batting first, Kuwait set a strong target of 107 runs at the loss of 5 wickets in 6 overs. The format itself is known for 6-overs-per-side games and some fearless striking. He scored runs with some clever running between the wickets and hence kept the Indian bowlers under pressure.
Player of the match – Yasin Patel’s brilliant performance in the last over won the match
Kuwait all-rounder Yasin Patel has probably given the best performance of his cricket career and he will be remembered in the history of Kuwait cricket, because it was due to his all-round performance that Kuwait could defeat the giants India for the first time in the history.
At one time Kuwait was far away from the 90-run mark and if Yasin Patel had not been there, the score could have been around 80. Patel came and hit 5 sixes in the last over and took his team from 76 to 106 runs on the board.
Out of these 30 runs, only 27 runs proved to be the margin of victory for Kuwait. He was later named player of the match for his commendable performance.
Adnan Idris and Yasin Patel maintained control on the ball
After Kuwait’s excellent batting performance, India were expected to get off to a strong start in reply and Robin Uthappa will open the innings for them. However, he was out for a golden duck and was joined by captain Dinesh Karthik and all-rounder Stuart Binny, who could not contribute much with the bat.
Only Abhimanyu Mithun showed a rare glimpse of hope in the Indian dugout as he started the final over with three sixes off the first three balls, although India still needed 26 runs off just 3 balls. Adnan Idris remained patient and dismissed Mithun for 26 runs in just 9 balls.
Yasin Patel also did wonders with the ball and took 3 wickets in his two overs, which proved to be decisive.
After the loss to Kuwait, the Men in Blue lost against UAE by 4 wickets and against Nepal by 92 runs.
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