Team India arrived in the Hong Kong Sixes tournament – a unique 6 overs a side event, with teams comprising of 6 players – as one of the favourites but what happened on the ground was truly eye-opening. Despite possessing players like Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Priyank Panchal, Abhimanyu Mithun, Stuart Binny, Shahbaz Nadeem, etc. in the team, India only managed to beat Pakistan in the first four games. Even the win against Pakistan came by a narrow margin of 2 runs, after rain prevented a complete 12-over game.
In the following matches – against Kuwait, UAE, and Nepal – India were simply outclassed.
India’s campaign witnessed its first upset with a 27-run defeat to Kuwait in their Pool C clash. Opting to bowl first, India struggled to contain Kuwait’s aggressive batting, especially Yasin Patel, who smashed an unbeaten 58 off 14 balls, including five consecutive sixes in the final over, propelling Kuwait to 106/5 in 6 overs. In response, India faltered early, losing key wickets quickly and managing only 79/6 in 5.4 overs, despite a late surge from Abhimanyu Mithun who scored 26 off 9 balls.
Just hours after their loss to Kuwait, India faced another setback, losing to the UAE by 4 wickets. Batting first, India posted a competitive 107/3, thanks to solid knocks from Abhimanyu Mithun (50) and Dinesh Karthik (42). However, UAE’s chase was explosive, with Khalid Shah and Saghir Khan hammering 42 runs in the first two overs. The chase never looked out of reach as UAE went on to score 111/2 in 5.5 overs, handing India their second straight defeat.
Nepal defeated India by 92 runs in the Hong Kong Sixes! #HongKongSixes pic.twitter.com/LNT87Wre1H
— ICC Asia Cricket (@ICCAsiaCricket) November 8, 2025
India’s troubles continued in their final match of the day against Nepal, another nation that isn’t known for its cricketing prowess. But, Nepal didn’t lose a single wicket as they posted a total of 137/0 in 6 overs, the highest team total of the tournament. In reply, India crumbled under pressure, losing all 6 wickets for a score of 45 runs. In the process, India incurred a mind-boggling 92-run defeat.
India are next scheduled to play against Sri Lanka on Sunday.