Solid Middle-Order Resistance
Hong Kong managed 143 for 7 in their 20 overs after being asked to bat first by Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi. The innings began nervously, with early wickets falling cheaply, but Zeeshan Ali (30) and Nizakat Khan (42) steadied things with a patient stand.
Their 41-run partnership for the third wicket gave Hong Kong some breathing space, avoiding a repeat of their collapse against Afghanistan. Captain Yasim Murtaza later lifted the scoring rate with a quickfire 28 from 19 balls, though his dismissal triggered another late stumble.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈,” 𝑵𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌.
Bangladesh Bowlers Strike Back
Despite the resistance, Bangladesh bowlers maintained pressure. Tanzim Hasan Sakib impressed with pace in the early 140kph range, picking up 2 for 21, including the crucial scalps of Babar Hayat (14) and Zeeshan. Taskin Ahmed was slightly expensive but chipped in with two wickets, removing Anshy Rath early and Aizaz Khan in the final over.
Legspinner Rishad Hossain faced an aggressive counterattack with sweeps and reverse sweeps but had the last laugh in his final over. He dismissed Nizakat at long-on and trapped Kinchit Shah lbw off consecutive deliveries, ensuring Hong Kong didn’t finish with a late flourish.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍,” 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉’𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉-𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.
Hong Kong added 54 runs in the final six overs, lifting their total to a respectable 143 and setting up an intriguing chase for Bangladesh.
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