Bangladesh began their Asia Cup campaign in Abu Dhabi with a seven-wicket win over Hong Kong, chasing down 144 with 14 balls remaining. The result gave them their first-ever T20I victory in Abu Dhabi, but it didn’t come without resistance from a spirited Hong Kong side.
Litton and Hridoy Steer the Chase
Litton Das starred with a 39-ball 59, while Towhid Hridoy anchored the innings with an unbeaten 35 off 36. The pair put together a match-winning 95-run stand after early hiccups in the powerplay.
Hong Kong’s bowlers managed to slow the scoring during the middle overs, but Bangladesh kept control by running quick singles and twos. Litton accelerated late, raising his half-century in style.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔. 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚,” 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Despite losing his wicket with just two runs needed, Litton had already sealed the game. Hridoy calmly finished the job, giving Bangladesh the points they were after.
Sakib, Rishad Lead the Bowling Effort
Earlier, Bangladesh’s bowlers set the tone. Tanzim Hasan Sakib bowled with pace and accuracy, claiming 2 for 21, including the key wickets of Babar Hayat and Zeeshan Ali. Rishad Hossain also impressed in the death overs, striking twice in the 19th to halt Hong Kong’s momentum.
Taskin Ahmed chipped in with two wickets, while Mustafizur Rahman kept things tight at the end, ensuring Hong Kong couldn’t break free despite some late hitting.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆,” 𝑺𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒃 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Hong Kong Show Promise but Fall Short
For Hong Kong, Nizakat Khan’s 42 and Yasim Murtaza’s 28 off 19 gave their innings a much-needed lift. A 41-run partnership between Nizakat and Zeeshan provided stability, but frequent wickets in the later overs restricted them to 143 for 7.
While Hong Kong remain without a win in Asia Cup matches, their improved batting display after being bundled out for 94 in their first game showed signs of progress.
Also Read: Hridoy Defends Bangladesh’s Measured Approach Against Hong Kong
