Toss Hong Kong opt to bowl vs India
Natasha Miles called correctly as Hong Kong elected to bowl in their Asia Cup group fixture against an unchanged India side at the Dubai International Stadium.
Miles returned to take over the captaincy from Maryam Bibi after missing their opener, which they narrowly lost by six runs to Thailand. She hoped they could restrict India to "under 150." The match marks a special milestone for seamer Alison Siu, who is playing her 100th T20I.
"It's obviously a very exciting occasion," Miles said. "We're playing one of the top teams in the world. They're an incredible side. Obviously, everyone's very excited to see how we can compete against such an incredible side. And, I mean, taking in the occasion and enjoying ourselves, and hopefully we come back to the Asia Cup in the future."
Harmanpreet Kaur wanted to bat, saying "the pitch is tricky and we don't know how it will play." So, both captains got what they wanted.
India will continue fielding Pratika Rawal at No. 3 in Jemimah Rodrigues' absence, while Bharti Fulmali, yet to fire since she was trialled in the middle order prior to the T20 World Cup on the back of her WPL form, retains her spot.
India are playing their second game in the competition, having hardly broken any sweat in overcoming Thailand in their opening game three nights ago, with Shafali Verma and the bowlers dominating.
This is only the second time these two sides are squaring off. Their previous meeting - which didn't have T20I status - was at the Asia Cup in Guangzhou in 2012, where India won by 142 runs. Harmanpreet is the only member from that India XI to be featuring tonight. Mariko Hill and Charlotte Chan were part of Hong Kong's XI that day.
Hong Kong: Natasha Miles (capt), Maryam Bibi, Mariko Hill, Joyleen Kaur, Marina Lamplough, Yasmin Daswani (wk), Shanzeen Shahzad, Kary Chan, Ruchitha Venkatesh, Iqra Sahar, Alison Siu
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud
