Hong Kong Sixes: India Lose to UAE and England on a Bad Saturday, Now Play Bangladesh for 11th Place

India's Hong Kong Sixes campaign went from poor to worse on Saturday. Krunal Pandya's side lost twice in a matter of hours, first to the UAE in their last group game and then to England in a Bowl semi-final. They will now play Bangladesh on Sunday in the playoff for 11th and 12th place.

It is a sharp fall for a team that came into the revived six-a-side tournament as one of its best-known names, and it follows a loss to Pakistan on Friday that had already left India needing to win.

Blown away by the UAE

The Group C decider was effectively over after one over of India's innings. UAE's Zahid Ali took three early wickets to leave India 14 for 3, and only a late burst from fast bowler T Natarajan, who hit an unbeaten 38 off 14 balls with four sixes, got the total to 94 for 6. Rahul Tripathi made 24 and Krunal 15 off eight balls.

UAE needed only 4.2 of their five overs to chase it down, without losing a wicket. Captain Khalid Shah smashed an unbeaten 52 off 14 balls with six sixes, and Ansh Tandon added 39 not out off 12, the pair taking 25 runs off the very first over. The result sent UAE into the Cup semi-finals and dropped India into the Bowl, the competition's secondary bracket.

Three runs short against England

The Bowl semi-final was far closer. England posted 124 for 2, powered by Martin Andersson's 51 off 13 balls and an unbeaten 35 off 14 from Ed Barnard. Tripathi then produced the innings of India's tournament, hitting 56 off 14 balls with seven sixes, and Krunal chipped in with 28 off seven. But India finished on 121, three runs short.

What went wrong

In a format where each side bats for just five overs, losing early wickets is fatal, and India repeatedly found themselves rebuilding rather than attacking. Their bowling also leaked heavily: watching UAE score 95-plus in just 26 balls was the clearest sign of an attack that has struggled with the short boundaries. The defeats also expose the limits of fielding a side built largely of players outside India's main international set-up, at a time when the senior men's team is busy with a T20 series in New Zealand.

The rest of the draw

Australia and Afghanistan will meet in Sunday's Cup final. Australia beat UAE by 53 runs behind quickfire half-centuries from Max Bryant and Nick Hobson, while Afghanistan saw off Scotland by 21 runs with captain Gulbadin Naib unbeaten on 51 off 16. In the Plate final, Oman face Pakistan, while England and South Africa contest the Bowl final after South Africa edged Bangladesh off the last ball.

For India, Sunday's game against Bangladesh is now about avoiding the wooden spoon.

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