Hong Kong captain Nizakat Khan admitted that his team needs to improve their death bowling in their next match against Pakistan. Hong Kong bowled impressively against India till the 13th over but their bowlers veered off the track in the final seven overs.
Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav added a fine alliance of 98 runs off just 45 balls as they batted at the top of their game. SKY was able to hit the ground running as he scored two boundaries on the first two balls he faced.
The right-hander took the Hong Kong bowlers to the cleaners and took 26 runs off the final over, which was bowled by Haroon Arshad.
Yadav went on to score an unbeaten knock of 68 runs off just 26 balls while Virat Kohli scored 59 runs off 44 balls. Haroon Arshad, Mohammad Ghazanfar, and Aizaz Khan were expensive in their bowling spells while Ayush Shukla, Yasim Murtaza, and Ehsan Khan bowled economical spells for Hong Kong.
Nizakat Khan said in the post-match presentation, “The way we started with the ball, until 13th over we were amazing. Our fielding was amazing as well. But we slipped after that. The way Suryakumar batted, it was good to watch. It (Asia Cup) was a good opportunity for all the boys. We were away for a long time, credit goes to boys and I am really proud of them. We are gonna sit down tomorrow, we’ll have a look at our death bowling. We will improve.”
On the other hand, Babar Hayat played an attacking knock and he was able to get going in the PowerPlay overs. The right-hander top-scored for Hong Kong as he scored 41 runs off 35 balls.
He said after the game, “I think that knock (of mine) was much needed. We were chasing around 200 so we needed a good powerplay. I was just playing my shots and it was coming off the middle. I think apart from our bowling, everything was good. So plenty of positives to take from this game. The wicket was a bit tricky and the Indian bowlers are really experienced, they bowled really well.”
Hong Kong will next face Pakistan on Friday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah. The team that wins this contest will qualify for the Super Four stage.
