Pakistan begin their Asia Cup 2018 campaign against minnows Hong Kong at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 16.
When is the match and how to watch it online
The second match of Asia Cup 2018 will start at 5 pm IST, 3:30 pm local time, and 12:30 pm BST.
Star Sports 1 and Star Sports Hindi will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar.
What to expect from the Asia Cup tie
Pakistan are being touted as one of the favorites to win the Asia Cup title this year. Sarfraz Ahmed's men will be keen on flexing their muscles in their tournament opener against Hong Kong today in Dubai.
Having won the Champions Trophy last year, Ahmed had revealed that the Asia Cup marks the beginning of their 2019 Cricket World Cup preparations. The Men in Green have had an extended break as they haven't played an international fixture since their 5-0 thrashing of Zimbabwe.
Pakistan will also be keen on getting off to a good start in the tournament, in which they are expected to face India twice, if not thrice. They take on their arch-rivals in a Group A fixture on Wednesday, a day after India open their campaign against Hong Kong.
All eyes will be on Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam as the two exciting young talents are expected to light up the tournament.
The former, the left-handed opener who had hit a match-winning ton against India in last year's Champions Trophy final, is heading into the tournament on the back of having smashed Pakistan's first double century during the tour of Zimbabwe.
The match against Hong Kong will also provide them with an opportunity to help their pacers ease into a rhythm as there will be less pressure on them despite the hot and humid conditions in the UAE.
On the other hand, Hong Kong, who have been steadily improving as a cricket-playing nation, have a good opportunity to push for an ODI status as they will be playing two of the biggest names in world cricket — India and Pakistan — in a span of few days.
20-year-old Anshy Rath, who was in fine form during the qualifying tournament in which they had beaten the likes of Nepal and the UAE — teams with ODI status — will lead a young side in the ongoing tournament.
With quality spinners in their side, Hong Kong will be hoping to test the Pakistan batsmen on what is expected to be a dry turner in Dubai today. A good showing will definitely help boost the minnows' profile and Rath's men should keep that in mind as they take the field today.
Predicted playing XIs
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan Shinwari
Hong Kong: Nadeem Ahmed, Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Kinchit Shah, Tanwir Afzal, Anshuman Rath (c), Christopher Carter, Scott McKechnie (wk), Ehsan Khan
Asia Cup 2018: Pakistan vs Hong Kong TV Guide
- US, Australia: Yupptv
- Afghanistan: Ariana TV
- Bangladesh: Channel 9, BTV
- Pakistan: PTV Sports
- UAE: OSN Sports Cricket
- Sri Lanka: SLRC (Channel Eye)
