Asia Cup | Game against Hong Kong wasn't going to be easy, says Rohit Sharma

India started off its Asia Cup campaign against Hong Kong and contrary to popular belief, it proved to be a tough one. Being put into bat, India mustered 285 runs in stipulated 50 overs while Hong Kong came close and lost the game by a margin of only 26 runs. The Indian bowlers didn't perform as per the expectation as the Hong Kong openers Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath added 174 runs for the opening wicket. Skipper Sharma believes that this is a tournament for the team to learn from their mistakes. 

“We always knew it was not going to be easy. There are no excuses. We made our mistakes. This tournament is all about learning and these guys will learn. But in the end, the team pulled it back,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Speaking about Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu, Sharma said that the left-hander looked really positive at the crease and the fifty by Rayudu was a brilliant one as well. Dhawan and Rayudu added 116 runs for the second wicket after Sharma got out early in the innings.

“When the going gets tough, a couple of the characters did well. This will be a great learning curve for the bowling group. Shikhar was a great positive. It was not easy out there. Amabati got a brilliant fifty as well.”

Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed made his international debut against Hong Kong and Sharma praised him for his excellent comeback during the game. The Rajasthan seamer ended the game with figures of 3/48 in his maiden international appearance in Dubai.

“Khaleel is a very exciting player to have in our squad. Today, he showed that despite not starting well he found a way to come back and got his rewards in the end.”