India are playing in the Hong Kong Sixes and Dinesh Karthik has been given the captaincy this time. Stuart Binny, Abhimanyu Mithun and Robin Uthappa have been reinstated in the Indian team for the tournament.
Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin would also be part of the Indian team for the Hong Kong Sixes tournament; however, he was pulled out at the last minute due to injury and was replaced by batsman Robin Uthappa.
The Pool C match between Kuwait and India ended in an unexpected twist as the Dinesh Karthik-led side lost the match by a staggering margin of 27 runs. The Indians could manage only 79 runs at the loss of their 6 wickets while chasing a total of 107 runs.
Kuwait should be commended for their exceptional courage and tactical brilliance, in addition to the individual performances of their players. The six-a-side match saw some standout batting performances from Yasin Patel and the rest of the Kuwaiti team.
Kuwait opted to bat first and set a formidable target of 107 in their 6 overs, for the loss of 5 wickets. The format itself is largely known for its 6-over-per-side games and some fearless attacks. They scored runs with some smart running between the wickets and kept the Indian bowlers under pressure.
Player of the Match – Yasin Patel’s stunning last over display stole the show
Kuwaiti all-rounder Yasin Patel has played probably the best hand of his cricketing career and will be remembered in the history of Kuwaiti cricket as it was his all-round show that allowed Kuwait to beat heavyweights India for the first time in history.
At one point, Kuwait was far from even the 90-point mark and could have achieved a score of around 80 had it not been for Yasin Patel. Patel came in and hit five sixes in the final over to guide his team to 106, from 76 on the board.
It was the 27 points out of these 30 points scored that proved to be the winning margin for Kuwait. He was later selected as player of the match for his commendable show.
Adnan Idrees and Yasin Patel kept their nerves in check with the ball
After Kuwait’s promising batting show, India’s response was expected to make a strong start with Robin Uthappa opening the innings for them. However, he was dismissed for a golden duck and was joined by skipper Dinesh Karthik and all-rounder Stuart Binny, who could not contribute much with the bat either.
Only Abhimanyu Mithun showed a rare ray of hope in the Indian dugout as he started the final with three sixes off the first three balls, even though India still needed 26 runs off just 3 balls. Adnan Idrees held his nerve and dismissed Mithun for 26 after just 9 balls.
Yasin Patel also wowed with the ball, taking three wickets from his two overs, which proved decisive.
After the defeat against Kuwait, the Men In Blue also lost to UAE by 4 wickets and Nepal by 92 runs.
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