Sharjah: Pakistan put on a second show against arch-rivals India in as many weeks with a record 155-run win over Hong Kong in an essential match of the Asia Cup here on Friday.
Mohammad Rizwan had to work hard to score 78 off 57 balls as Pakistan got a much-needed final climax to post 193 for two against Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was blown away with Pakistan’s attack proving to be very good for them. Their innings was reduced to just 38 runs in 10.4 overs, sending Pakistan into Super 4 as the second-placed team from Group A.
It was Pakistan’s biggest win in the shortest format.
Pakistan will take on Group A toppers India on Sunday.
Hong Kong showed little ability with the bat against India but they simply surrendered to the Pakistani attack.
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It was a procession after Naseem Shah hit two boundaries in the third over of the innings. Then it was the turn of the spinners, Shadab Khan (4/8) and Mohammad Nawaz (3/5), who shared seven wickets.
Shadab’s googly was great for the opposition batsmen before he ended Hong Kong’s innings with a straighter to dismiss Mohammad Ghazanfar.
The outing was a great learning experience for Hong Kong, a team full of amateurs who had to qualify for the tournament.
Read also: Hong Kong dominates lowest Asia Cup total; 9th lowest level in T20Is
As they did against India, the Hong Kong bowlers did well to keep Pakistan calm for most of the innings before losing their way. With Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman (53 off 41) struggling to find a boundary, Pakistan reached 64 for one in 10 overs.
Khushdil Shah played an innings of 35 off 15 balls in the end to ensure Pakistan a strong total.
Captain Babar Azam (9 out of 8) endured his second failure in as many innings in the tournament. Trying to accelerate, Babar went for an aerial stroke over the bowlers’ head but hit straight back to spinner Ehsan Khan, who dived to the right to take a fine catch.
Rizwan could only find the ropes in the fifth over as he hit medium pacer Aayush Shukla for a boundary and guided him towards third man for back to back fours.
The first six of the innings came in the 11th over when Rizwan was dismissed to leg-spinner Ghazanfar and towed it straight to a maximum.
With Pakistan in dire need of a big hit, Fakhar released some of the pressure by smashing the spinners for sixes in the cow corner area.
Struggling amidst the heat and humidity, Rizwan managed to change gears after completing his fifty.
Due to their lack of experience in tough conditions, the Hong Kong bowlers once again lost the plot in the death overs, allowing Pakistan to score 77 runs in the last 30 balls.
The 20th over bowled by Ejaz Khan alone yielded 29 runs and included five byes and four sixes from Khushdil Shah’s bat.
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