Hong Kong Sixes Drama: Australia, Pakistan Advance as India Crashes Out

Australia and Pakistan won their respective games and have qualified for the semi-finals on Saturday. For India, however, it proved to be a disappointing outing, as they suffered three defeats on the day, according to a press release from the Hong Kong Sixes.

In their must-win Pool C clash against Kuwait, India fell short by 27 runs, finishing third in the group behind Kuwait (1st) and Pakistan (2nd). Chasing a target of 107, India were bowled out for 79/6, with Kuwait's Yasin Patel starring with figures of 3/23. With that result, Pakistan and Kuwait advanced to the quarterfinals, while India dropped into the Bowl matches.

In the Bowl stage, India's struggles continued. Against the UAE, despite quickfire knocks from Abhimanyu Mithun (50 off 16) and Dinesh Karthik (42 off 14), India failed to defend their total of 108 as the UAE's Khalid Shah hammered a blistering 50 off 14 balls to seal a four-wicket win.

Their final game against Nepal saw another tough outing for the Men in Blue. Nepal posted a massive 137/0 in six overs, and India were bundled out for just 45/6, losing by a massive margin of 92 runs. Rashid Khan starred for Nepal with an all-round effort to score 55 (17) while also finishing with the figures of 3/7 with the ball.

Meanwhile, the quarterfinals saw dominant performances from Australia and Pakistan. Australia powered into the semifinals with a 54-run win over Bangladesh, thanks to explosive half-centuries from Ben McDermott (51 off 14) and skipper Alex Ross (50 off 11), while Chris Green picked up 3/32.

Pakistan too maintained their strong form, defeating South Africa by five wickets. After South Africa posted 102/3, Pakistan chased down the target in just 3.5 overs, with Abdul Samad smashing a breathtaking 50 off 10 balls to guide his side into the semifinals.

Australia will now take on Pakistan in the first semi-final on November 9. Meanwhile, India will play their final bowl fixture game against Sri Lanka.

- ANI