Sharjah: Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten 78 followed by Shadab Khan’s four-wicket haul guided Pakistan to a massive 155 runs victory over Hong Kong in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
With this win, Pakistan booked a clash against India on Sunday in the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022. Hong Kong were bundled out on a paltry score of 38 runs. None of the Hong Kong players was successful in getting to double digits. For Pakistan, Shadab Khan scalped four wickets while Mohammad Nawaz got three.
Defending a formidable total of 194, Naseem Shah gave double blows to Hong Kong as he dismissed Nizakat Khan on 8 and right-handed batter Babar Hayat on zero in the very first over of the innings.
Pakistan bowlers’ tight bowling tied the Hong Kong team and restricted them from playing any big shots. Miseries just would not end for Hong Kong and Shahnawaz Dahani took the third scalp of the team. Yasim Murtaza’s shot was caught by Khushdil and he went back to the pavilion after scoring just two runs.
Right-handed batter Aizaz Khan then came to the crease but could not last long as he failed to read the googly and Shadab Khan rattled his off-stump, leaving Hong Kong tottering at 26/4.
In the 8th over Mohammad Nawaz struck twice as he trapped Kinchit Shah leg before wicket and a stunning delivery bowled Scott McKechnie.
The pressure was piling up on Hong Kong as they lost six wickets without even scoring 50 runs. Shadab struck again dismissing Haroon Arshad for three runs.
In the 10th over, Nawaz scalped his third wicket of the match, dismissing Zeeshan Ali for three runs. Wickets kept falling for the Hong Kong team. In the 11th over, Shadab struck twice to close out the match.
Earlier, Mohammad Rizwan’s blistering knock of 78 helped Pakistan post a formidable total of 193 for 2 against Hong Kong.
It was a good day for Pakistan batsmen as they piled up the formidable score propelled by Rizwan’s knock. Put to bat first, Pakistan opener Babar Azam and Rizwan got off to a slow start as they could only manage to score seven runs in two overs.
In the third over of the innings, Ehsan Khan gave Hong Kong an early breakthrough as he sent Babar Azam packing. He scored 9 runs off 8 balls. Left-handed batsman Fakhar Zaman then came to the crease.
Pakistan batsmen managed to ease some pressure after the fall of the captain’s wicket as they gathered 12 runs during Haroon Arshad’s spell.
At the end of six overs in the powerplay, Pakistan was at 40/1, with Rizwan (15) and Fakhar Zaman (14) unbeaten on the crease. The duo soon brought up their 50-run partnership to place Pakistan in a comfortable situation.
They batted with caution while also playing big shots. Mohammad Rizwan brought up his half-century in 40 balls. In the 14th over, Fakhar bent down on one knee and slammed a beautifully executed six over the deep-midwicket.
In the 15th over of the innings, the duo slammed Mohammad Ghazanfar for 12 runs. However, the 116-run partnership was broken when Fakhar fall prey after a decent fifty, playing a shot to the fielder placed at the edge of the circle, of delivery by Ehsan Khan. He scored 53 runs of 41 deliveries.
But it was too late for Hong Kong to recover as Pakistan batters did their work methodically. Ayush Shukla gave away 18 runs in the 18th over of the match while delivering four wide balls. In the last over, Khushdil Shah smashed three back-to-back sixes to help Pakistan post a formidable 193/2.
Brief score: Pakistan 193/2 (Mohammad Rizwan 78*, Fakhar Zaman 53; Ehsan Khan 2-28) vs Hong Kong 38 all out (Nizakat Khan 8, Scott McKechnie 4; Shadab Khan 4-8).
