SCORECARDCOMMENTARY
PAK WON
T20
PAK beat HK by 68 runs
PAK
160-10
20.0/20 Ovrs
92-10
18.5/20 Ovrs
HK
Asian Games Men’s T20I, 2023 |2nd Quarter Final |10/3/2023
ZJUT Cricket Field. Hangzhou, Zhejiang
ZJUT Cricket Field. Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Commentary
- Right then, that is it from this game and two arch-rivals, India and Pakistan have secured their places in the semifinals with a couple of spots still to be filled. On Wednesday, the 4th of October we will witness the remaining two quarterfinals and in the first game, Afghanistan will take on Sri Lanka at 6.30 am IST (1 am GMT). This will be followed by a match-up between Bangladesh and Malaysia starting at 11.30 am IST (6 am GMT). Both matches will be played at the same venue and you can join us in advance for the build-up as well. Cheers!
- Hong Kong will be slightly disheartened with that batting display, particularly the way the middle order just crumbled against the Pakistani spinners. They did play well in patches and bowled extremely well but lost the plot and the very final over of the first innings from Ayush Shukla might have picked have a couple of wickets but he conceded 26 runs as well which handed the mental advantage to the opposition going into the break. With the bat, skipper Nizakat Khan made a decent start but lost his opening partner for a duck. It was then Babar Hayat who escaped a stumping chance and mustered up a few runs. But once they lost 4 wickets, it went downhill all too quickly for them and even a couple of little cameos at the death couldn't take them over the 100-run mark.
- A very commanding victory then for Pakistan and they have taken a big step forward to get into medal contention as they zoom through into the semifinals. After a fairly difficult start with the bat, the middle order managed to get them back into the contest and the stunning cameo from Aamer Jamal allowed them to get over the 150-run mark. With the ball, however, they made a good start as Arafat Minhas got an early wicket. It was quiet for a while but once they got into that middle order, the likes of Khushdil Shah and Sufiyan Muqeem just ripped through. Slowly but surely enough Pakistan got the job done as skipper Qasim Akram himself came on and picked up the final two wickets.
- 18.5WQasim Akram to Niaz Ali, OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! All over for Hong Kong! Qasim Akram flights this up, full and around middle, Niaz Ali goes for the slog-sweep but miscues it in the air towards deep mid-wicket where Khushdil Shah settles under it and takes a fine catch. PAKISTAN WIN BY 68 RUNS!
- 18.40Qasim Akram to Niaz Ali, Pushed through quicker, full and on middle, turns away again, Niaz Ali gets stuck in his crease and misses.
- 18.30Qasim Akram to Niaz Ali, Quicker, short and outside off, Niaz Ali looks to cut it but misses.
- 18.20Qasim Akram to Niaz Ali, Floated, full and on middle, turns away with extra bounce, Niaz Ali backs away but is nowhere near to play it.
- 18.11lbQasim Akram to Ehsan Khan, Flatter, short and on middle, turns in, Ehsan Khan gets cramped and clips it towards short fine leg for a single.
- END OF OVER 18 | 11 Runs & 0 Wkt | HK 91/9
- 17.61Arshad Iqbal to Ehsan Khan, A full toss now, on middle, Ehsan Khan drills it towards deep mid-wicket for one more.
- 17.51Arshad Iqbal to Niaz Ali, Another full delivery around off, Niaz Ali throws his bat at it but gets a top edge wide of third man for one.
- 17.41Arshad Iqbal to Ehsan Khan, Pitched up and on middle, Ehsan Khan works it towards deep mid-wicket for another run.
- 17.31Arshad Iqbal to Niaz Ali, Full again and outside off, Niaz Ali slices it towards third man for a run.
- 17.26Arshad Iqbal to Niaz Ali, SIX! WOW! Arshad Iqbal serves this full and around off, Niaz Ali makes some room by moving to the leg side and smashes it over the deep extra cover fence for a biggie.
- 17.11Arshad Iqbal to Ehsan Khan, Full and on middle, angling in, Ehsan Khan flicks it through square leg for a single.
- END OF OVER 17 | 5 Runs & 1 Wkt | HK 80/9
- 16.64Qasim Akram to Niaz Ali, FOUR! Nice shot! Qasim Akram lands this short and around off, Niaz Ali moves back and punches it over covers for a boundary.
- 16.50Qasim Akram to Niaz Ali, Flighted, full and on off, turns away, Niaz Ali looks to slog-sweep it away but misses.
- Niaz Ali is the last man in for Hong Kong.
- 16.4WQasim Akram to Mohammad Ghazanfar, OUT! DRAGGED ON! Qasim Akram gets a wicket now! He fires this one full and outside off, Mohammad Ghazanfar stays back and has a wild hoick across the line but only manages to get an inside edge back onto the stumps. Pakistan one wicket away from the win now!
- 16.31Qasim Akram to Ehsan Khan, Quicker, full and on leg, Ehsan Khan sweeps it off the bottom edge towards short fine leg for one.
- 16.20Qasim Akram to Ehsan Khan, Floated, full and on middle, turns in, Ehsan Khan moves across to sweeps but misses it.
- 16.10Qasim Akram to Ehsan Khan, Short and on off, Ehsan Khan dabs it towards point.
- END OF OVER 16 | 7 Runs & 0 Wkt | HK 75/8
- 15.61Arafat Minhas to Ehsan Khan, A bit short and on middle, Ehsan Khan nudges it through mid-wicket for one.