DHAKA, Sept 11, 2025 (BSS)- Bangladesh captain Liton sent Hong Kong into bat first after winning the toss in their Asia Cup opening game at Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi today.

Liton said that the uncertainty about the behvaiour of the pitch prompted them to bowl first.

"It's first game for us, don't know how the pitch will behave so looking to bowl," Liton said after the toss.

"We've played very good cricket in the last three series but these are different conditions. We've to give 100 percent."

Bangladesh, however, fielded a team that is considered as their first choice XI.

They had included three seamers, two spinners and six batters in the team. 

Towhid Hridoy got the nod ahead of Saif Hasan despite his poor run of form that saw him fifty-less in the last 12 innings. 

While it's the first game for Bangladesh, for Hong Kong the game will be second and extremely important to stay alive in the Super 4 race because of their 94-run thrashing at the hand of Afghanistan in the first match.

Even though Bangladesh are heavily favourite to win the game, Hong Kong was looking to replicate the 2014 feat when they defeated Bangladesh by two wickets. That 2014 World Cup game in Bangladesh remained the two team's only meeting in the T20 format.

"We (also) wanted to bat first," Hong Kong Yasim Murtaza said, expressing his disappointment at losing the toss. "We made few mistakes in the middle with the batters in the last game (against Afghanistan). Whatever has happened has happened in the past. New day today."

Line Ups:

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Liton Das (capt & wk), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Patwari, Jaker Ali Anik, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.

Hong Kong, China: Zeeshan Ali (wk), Anshy Rath, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Kalhan Challu, Kinchit Shah, Yasim Murtaza (capt), Aizaz Khan, Ayush Shukla, Ateeq Iqbal, Ehsan Khan.