India suffered a rare failure in the ongoing Hong Kong Sixes tournament as they registered a string of four consecutive defeats which officially eliminated the Blue Brigade from the quarter-final race. The Men in Blue currently being led by Robin Uthappa have failed to register a single victory in this tournament and will conclude their campaign on a sour note without a win under their belt.

India commenced their campaign by playing the opening match of their tournament against their old foe Pakistan. India has predominantly had the upper hand over their arch-rivals in major cricketing events but contrary to everyone’s expectations, the Indians were taken aback as Pakistan chased down a galloping 120 runs inside five overs in one of the most one-sided fashions. 

But the final nail in the coffin came when India took on a fairly inexperienced UAE side in their second match of the tournament. They were in desperate search of a win to stay in the race. While many expected India to win quite comfortably, UAE held their nerve to steal a narrow one-run victory from India in the final over of the run chase. At that moment, it was all but over for team India. The team subsequently went on to face England and New Zealand in their remaining fixtures but finished winless.  

The intense last-over drama which left India heartbroken

Coming into this fixture after a shocking defeat in their earlier match against Pakistan, Robin Uthappa & Co. found themselves in a high-pressure situation. UAE got off the flyer with the bat but Binny’s 3-31 restricted them to 130. The target of 131 was still going to be fairly tricky but Bharat Chipli gave the Blues a blazing start, smocking 20 in the first over before getting out. But they were soon jolted when they lost Chipli and Tiwari in quick succession giving UAE a window of opportunity to seal the game prematurely. 

But then the skipper arrived and together with Binny, the two dug in there and took the game deep for India. Uthappa went all guns blazing and hammered 43 runs off 10 balls which included three fours and five sixes. He was going along smoothly but Zubair got the better of him in the last ball of the fourth over and had him dismissed when the score was 83-3.

India needed 32 in 6 balls:

Stuart Binny - 4,WD,6,6,6,6,1. India lost by just 1 run. 💔 pic.twitter.com/qyhKWWyqe6

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 2, 2024

However, Binny continued to shine with the bat and kept India in the run chase with the help of his brute hitting. The game eventually progressed to the last over of the run chase where 32 runs were needed. Asif Khan from UAE was tasked with bowling the final over and he was greatted by a boundary first ball followed by a wide the second ball.

Binny then pressed his foot on the accelerator a lot further and went on to tonk four consecutive sixes before being run out on the final ball leaving India agonizingly short by one run. Binny clobbered 30 runs in that over but India fell by a narrow margin as they had way too much on their plate during the final over of the run chase.  

While Hong Kong Sixes is returning after seven years, team India has officially joined the upcoming tournament.

Hong Kong’s Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground will host the three-day Hong Kong Sixes 2024 between November 1 and 3, 2024. A total of 12 teams will participate in this tournament. 

Hong Kong Sixes 2024: Participating teams

The officially announced teams are Hong Kong China, England, Oman, Australia, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. 

🚨TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT🚨

Team India is gearing up to smash it out of the park at HK6! 🇮🇳💥

Prepare for explosive power hitting and a storm of sixes that will electrify the crowd! 🔥

Expect More Teams, More Sixes, More Excitement, and MAXIMUM THRILLS! 🔥🔥

HK6 is back from 1st to… pic.twitter.com/P5WDkksoJn

— Cricket Hong Kong, China (@CricketHK) October 7, 2024

Only Pakistan have announced the squad for the Hong Kong Sixes 2024. International cricketer Faheem Ashraf will lead the Pakistan team in the upcoming edition of the Hong Kong Sixes. 

Brief history and past champions

Hong Kong Sixes is a popular tournament where six-a-side international cricket teams compete. Its first edition was organised in 1993. Before the upcoming 2024 edition, this tournament was previously played in 2017. 

South Africa, England, and Pakistan have won five editions each in the Hong Kong Sixes. South Africa will start the forthcoming edition as the defending champions. Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, and India have won this trophy once each. 

Rules of the tournament:

General rules

• In every match, two teams compete with six players in each team. Just like the general white-ball formats, each team plays one innings in a match. Every innings consists of six overs with six balls in each over. 
• Each team must utilise four different bowlers in the six-over innings (except for the wicketkeeper), while each player can deliver a maximum of two overs but not consecutive overs.
• The wides and no-balls will cost one run along with one extra delivery.

Last man rule

• If five wickets fell in an innings (excluding retired not out) before the completion of the six overs, the last unbeaten batter can continue his batting with the latest dismissed batter acting only as a runner. Even if the running partner is dismissed, the last batter will be declared out. An innings will be completed before the completion of six overs if the team loses all six wickets. 
  

Retired not out

• A batter must retire not out after reaching the 50-run mark. But if the team loses one of the last active pairs (where both batters can play), the retired not out batter can resume his innings. 
• The rule book further added, “If more than one batter retires, then they must return in the order in which they retired. Any batter having not returned in order will be automatically ‘retired out’.”