It was baptism by fire for Hong Kong in the Asia Cup opener as they went down by 94 runs to Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. Having lost the toss, they ended up conceding 188, largely due to their errors in death bowling and then could only muster 94 with the bat against Afghanistan's potent bowling attack. With barely any time to recover, Hong Kong have to now face another strong opponent in Bangladesh who could be a similar if not harder challenge for Hong Kong. Another loss here will put Yasim Murtaza'a side on the bring of elimination, so you'd expect them to put up a stronger right. Will that be enough? That is the million dollar question. Ironically, the two teams only played each other once, way back in 2014 and it's Hong Kong who won that fixture in Chattogram.
Bangladesh come into this tournament on the back of serious momentum in the shortest format. They beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and then defeated Pakistan at home, both by 2-1 margins. That was followed by a 2-0 win against Netherlands at home as the Bangla boys stepped up their prep levels for the Asia Cup. In UAE conditions, Bangladesh are a bigger white-ball threat as the conditions suit them to a large extent. There has been a marked increase in intent from their batters too, and this along with their condition-specific bowling attack should be a threat for most teams, let alone Hong Kong.
For Hong Kong, it will be about eradicating basic mistakes. There were elementary dropped catches, silly run outs and some baffling shot-selection on view against Afghanistan. Perhaps, they may well have lost that game even without these bloopers but the first step to progress is to get the basics right. Only then can a side hope to climb the ladder of success further. While Bangladesh's bowling isn't filled with mystery like Afghanistan's, they do have a lot of accurate bowlers who are likely to challenge Hong Kong's batters relentlessly. Hong Kong's bowlers are also likely to face a stiffer test, as Bangladesh boast of a stronger and deeper batting line-up.
KEY PLAYERS
Bangladesh
Pervez Hossain Emon - The left-hander loves to bully bowlers and his ultra-aggressive approach often puts bowlers off their lines and lengths. He can dismantle pace and spin with equal elan, making him a vital force in Bangladesh's batting line-up.
Hong Kong
Babar Hayat - It won't be wrong to say that Hong Kong's batting is over-dependent on ace batter Babar Hayat who is easily their most complete resource in the batting department. He showed that against Afghanistan and will once again need to deliver against Bangladesh.
FORM GUIDE (Last five completed T20Is results)
Bangladesh (W W L W W)
Hong Kong (L L W W L)
VENUE DATA AND TRENDS
The average score batting first in Abu Dhabi is 166 from a sampel size of 69 matches. Teams batting first have won 30 games while chasing sides have won 39 times.. Bangladesh are yet to win a T20I in Abu Dhabi, having lost both their games at the venue. Hong Kong, meanwhile, have played 11 times and won only three times with the wins coming against Jersey, Oman and Afghanistan.
WHERE TO WATCH?
The Bangladesh-Hong Kong match will be streamed on the SonyLIV app and also broadcast on Sony Sports Network in one of their channels.