After giving India a massive scare in the Asia Cup in Dubai on Tuesday, Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath has urged the International Cricket Council to take Associate cricket more seriously. Chasing 286, Hong Kong seemed on course for a famous win after openers Rath (73, 97b) and Nizakat Khan (92, 115b) raised 174 runs in 34 overs. The fall of Rath though changed the momentum as the inexperienced middle order batsmen faltered, giving India a 26-run victory. Rath said his players showed the cricketing world what they were capable of. “Today was bittersweet. We proved to the world what we can do, but in saying that, we had India by the horns and should have really finished it off. If we’re being hard on ourselves, which we should be, we should have finished that game off,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. With Hong Kong stripped of their ODI status after the game, uncertainty hovers over the team’s future. But Rath hopes Tuesday’s performance persuades ICC to give them more exposure. ICC meets in Madrid next month to chart a future path for Associate nations. “We don’t know what the ICC have planned for us. Hopefully this performance helps. The next three-four years will be quiet for us, going into a rebuilding phase, but hopefully the ICC recognise that Associate cricket has got a lot better and we proved that today,” he said. Rath emphasised the need to follow the Afghanistan model. He pointed out how Afghanistan were like Hong Kong four-five years ago. They used to cause the odd upset but would be bowled out for 140-150 on good tracks. Hong Kong were skittled out for 116 against Pakistan in their opening match in the Asia Cup. By playing regularly against top sides, Afghanistan got better and their 91-run demolition of Sri Lanka shows they can defeat any side. “With the right backing, they (Afghanistan) started getting better and better, started training a lot harder, and became fully contracted with professionalism coming in. Now they’re pretty much about to top group B. That’s something that lacks in Associates - the exposure to high level of cricket and today we proved we’re capable of it, and a lot of teams are. Look at Scotland at the World Cup qualifiers, they narrowly missed out. We just need that recognition.”<doc-sep>India vs Hong Kong Asia Cup match preview DUBAI: It's not easy to stay motivated playing cricket for an associate nation. The lopsided results against top teams - like the one Hong Kong endured against Pakistan on Sunday - don't bring the kind of money or fame enjoyed by players of Test-playing nations.Anshuman Rath, a 20-year-old with roots in Odisha , is these days torn between pursuing a career in international cricket and completing his graduation in economics in the UK. "My Indian genes compelled me to take up cricket in Hong Kong. We haven't been to Odisha for years. But I watched India do well in the 2003 World Cup and that's when I started playing cricket," Rath, leading his team in the ongoing Asia Cup , told TOI on Monday. "The only thing Indian about me is that I like playing cricket," he stated.Rath has grown up in the UK in a boarding school and then joined the university. "I had to make a decision. My parents always ensured academics went hand in hand with cricket. But I had to put my studies on hold because visa and immigrant laws in UK didn't allow me to play professional cricket in UK," Rath talked about his tough decisions. "I'll give myself another year to take a firm decision on my academics. "Rath is aware of the standard of cricket in Hong Kong. Turning professional isn't easy for him. He says he can't pursue his County ambitions because of the visa laws. "There's a lot of difference between Hong Kong and other associates. Other associates have seven or eight players who can take on top international teams. But Hong Kong hardly has two such players in the team," he reckoned.Is coming back to India an option? "It's very competitive in India. My father keeps telling me that people from Odisha cricket association are making offers through Hong Kong cricket. But if I don't get an assurance, I can't make that move," the young batsman said. "I have been to India only once two years ago for the World T20, although my grandparents are still in Bhubaneshwar. I have not tasted Oriya cuisine for a long while because of the diet that I need to follow. "In such a scenario, New Zealand seems to be a fertile option for him. He has seen Mark Chapman, the most prolific cricketer to have represented Hong Kong, shift base to New Zealand and subsequently play international cricket. "The immigration laws can help me finish my education and also pursue my cricket," he reasoned.As he grapples with these decisions, he remembers Kumar Sangakkara 's words from a T20 tournament in Hong Kong: "Just forget everything. Don't think about technique and intricacies of the game. Just keep playing."<doc-sep>ASIA CUP 2018 No excuses for the way we batted: Anshuman Rath by Prakash Govindasreenivasan • Last updated on There were as many as four starts during their innings but none of those Hong Kong batsmen converted it into a substantial score against Pakistan on Sunday. © AFP Day 2 at the Asia Cup was a far cry from the opener. Dubai clearly has a massive Bangladesh fan base, and those supporting Pakistan are probably saving their energy - which is not easy to expend in the unforgiving heat of the day in Dubai - for the India fixture on Wednesday. Hong Kong thus, walked out to barren stands. But that was hardly the downer, for a side about to play the first of its last two ODIs for its foreseeable future. As far as Asia Cup is concerned, Hong Kong emerged as the 'sixth best' Asian side and thus made it to the tournament proper, but the main motive for a team like Hong Kong was to provide yet another piece of evidence that Associate Nations are being treated unfairly. Sunday, though, wasn't one such evening. Hong Kong trained for four days in the UAE to get a hint of what conditions lay ahead, and their coach Simon Cook stressed on the need for his players to 'repeat their skills', something he reckoned players from the top sides pull off. Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons too talked about finding the gulf in ability and performance after his team's humbling experience in Bangalore on their Test debut. As Nizakat Khan and captain Anshuman Rath came to bat after the latter's victory at the toss, there were murmurs and expectation of an early finish, whispers of Pakistan facing a target of 60 or 70 even did the rounds, only for them to be earnestly turned down by the way the two openers began. All it took was a classy flick from Nizakat off Mohammed Amir in the second ball of the innings that raised eyebrows in the press box and changed opinions. The next 10-odd minutes fortified that feeling, until an elementary error while taking evasive action against a throw sent Nizakat packing. Rath's repertoire was still encouraging, as he peeled off a few elegant hits past third man and backward point. The cut shots were coming off, but he nicked an away mover and departed. Inside the first nine overs, two out of the four Hong Kong batters that managed double-digit scores were gone. Cook's call for 'repeat, repeat, repeat' your skills weren't adhered to. The result, hence, was an incredibly sub-par total of 116. "There's no excuse with the way we batted. Three [four] people getting to double figures is not enough, especially none of them converting, myself included. Getting starts is great but you've to kick on. That's certainly a lesson we'll look to rectify in the next game against India," Rath said in a post-match press conference. The only other form of fight came from the middle-order duo of Kinchit Shah and Aizaz Khan - Hong Kong's bowling hero from the Asia Cup qualifier final. Their partnership was longer, effort much better than the openers, but even the third-best sixth-wicket stand for Hong Kong (of 53 runs) proved to be precious little. "I think [there are] not a lot of positives to take from today, but the partnership between Kinchit and Aizaz was very good in the middle order, for them to notch up a 70-run [53] partnership against this Pakistan attack was very good. And Ahsan Khan's bowling as well. He really stuck out there despite not having a lot to bowl at." At the end of such a tough day at the very top level of the game, there can be a lot of retrospective feelings. Rath wondered if it would've served any purpose to have played against better quality oppositions in the lead-up to the tournament but admitted his team still had sufficient game time in Malaysia and have no excuses for what they've pulled off. "Yeah I think it might have helped getting used to these conditions a bit more, but in saying that we did play the qualifiers in Malaysia a couple of weeks ago. So we're not shy of cricket," Rath said. Shy of cricket they weren't, but had very little idea of how the rest of the teams in the Asia Cup operate. Rath stated that Hong Kong too have a video analyst and the players themselves take initiative to do their homework, but to get a matchday experience of how a top ODI side - with the advantages of far superior infrastructure and facilities - operates must be priceless. "It's great. For us all it is a fantastic experience to see how a top team operates. Especially since we haven't played that much against the top five sides essentially. It's good to see how they go about their things and hopefully our boys will pick up some lessons from them," Rath said. Where do they go from a defeat like this, some would ask? The answer to that is less philosophical and more dreadfully factual, as the No. 2 ODI side pose another big challenge in two day's time. But Rath's chuckling at what's in store, thanks to a very Hong Kong-specific trend. "Well, you know all I can say is we don't have the greatest starts to tournaments. If you look at our history - in the Asia Cup qualifiers we lost the first game to Malaysia. In the T20 World Cup qualifiers we lost to Jersey in our first game. We don't start well in tournaments. Going into the India game, we've got nothing to lose. Hopefully guys will pick themselves up and learn from their mistakes, myself included," he concluded. © Cricbuzz TAGS RELATED STORIES<doc-sep>
Anshuman Rath hails India as best ODI side in the world | Photo Credit: AP Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath, who has his roots in Odisha, was in for a special evening as he got to play against the country which he supported as a 6-year-old in the 2003 ICC World Cup. Anushman himself was brilliant with the bat, forming a 174-run partnership with fellow opening batsman Nizakat Khan before the middle-order failed to keep the momentum going and succumbed to the pressure posed by Indian bowlers. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Anshuman admitted that it would have been great had his side defeated the best ODI team in the world. “We are proud but it is bitter sweet,” said the Kong Kong captain after the conclusion of the match. “We were in a position to win and probably should have. We had a good start but lost too many key wickets in the middle but credit to the Indian bowlers. They bowled well and bowled to their plans.” Hong Kong were fearless in their approach and showed a different intent to the game after going down in a rather humiliating manner in the opening match against Pakistan. With the India clash being a do-or-die encounter, Anshuman admitted that his boys had no pressure ahead of the game and with the sort of performance they put, they can only be proud of themselves. (READ | Asia Cup 2018, India vs Hong Kong: Rohit Sharma admits bowling lacked experience, but says that's no excuse) “We have had no pressure coming into the tournament and wanted to play with a smile on our faces on the big stage. We've done that and done ourselves proud.” On being asked whether the team responded well after the Pakistan defeat, Anshuman added: “Yes, would have been great if we had rolled over the best team in the world, wasn't to be but super proud of the boys.” Hong Kong have a lot of positives to take from the valiant effort they put in against India, with Nizakat's batting being the biggest of all after the batsman almost spilt water on India's plans. (READ: Who is Anshuman Rath? Here's Hong Kong captain's India connection) “Loads of them (positives), Nizakat's innings at the top was really good, he had been batting at 4 during the Qualifiers and gave the nod to bat up. Then our bowling in the death, gave just 48 off the last 10 overs and that against the best ODI side in the world really means a lot. Shows the brand of cricket we play,” Anshuman also held special praise for Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu, the two top-scoring batsmen for India, admitting that if it wasn't for Hong Kong's brilliant death bowling, the Men in Blue could have scored 350. “The way Shikhar batted, Rayudu batted well and they could have got 350 but we stuck at it in this heat to pull it back,” he concluded.