Dinesh Karthik’s Team India have been knocked out of the Hong Kong Sixes tournament after a surprise 27-run loss against Kuwait in their final Pool C clash. The defeat ended India’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, with Kuwait and Pakistan advancing from the group.
India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Things started well as Stuart Binny and Abhimanyu Mithun picked two early wickets, reducing Kuwait to 12/2. Shahbaz Nadeem and Dinesh Karthik also chipped in with one wicket each, and after four overs, Kuwait were struggling at 51/4.
However, the match turned dramatically in the final two overs of Kuwait’s innings. Captain Yasin Patel played a sensational knock, scoring an unbeaten 58 off just 14 balls, including two fours and eight sixes at a staggering strike rate of 414.28. His explosive hitting powered Kuwait to 106 runs, with India conceding 55 runs in the last two overs.
Chasing a stiff target, India needed a strong start but lost both openers early, Robin Uthappa (0) and Priyank Panchal (17). Captain Dinesh Karthik also fell cheaply for 8. Abhimanyu Mithun (26) and Shahbaz Nadeem (19) offered some resistance, but the target proved too big. Mithun struck three sixes in the final over to reduce the margin of defeat. For Kuwait, Yasin Patel starred with the ball too, claiming three wickets in two overs.
With this loss, India will now compete in the Bowl Round against Nepal, who also failed to qualify from Pool A, on November 8.
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