Hong Kong 143-7 in 20 overs (Nizakat 42, Zeeshan 30; Sakib 2-21, Hossain 2-31) v Bangladesh
Bangladesh asked Hong Kong to bat first in Abu Dhabi and, for the opening few overs, that choice looked spot-on. Tanzim Hasan Sakib came on with the new ball, touched the low-140s kph and removed Babar Hayat with one that curved away late. “Bangladesh need to show consistency in selection,” Wasim Jaffer had said on the TV build-up, and Sakib’s early burst suggested the youngster is keen to nail down his spot.
Taskin Ahmed chipped in by pinning Anshy Rath, yet leaked runs at the other end, so Hong Kong found a flicker of momentum through Zeeshan Ali and Nizakat Khan. Their 41-run stand was hardly explosive, but after the collapse against Afghanistan the other night, it felt priceless. Zeeshan nudged and Nurul Hasan’s men spread the field; Nizakat began to free his arms, the pick a flat-batted slap over extra cover off Shoriful.
At 82-2 after 12, Hong Kong hoped for something close to 160. Instead, Rishad Hossain’s leg-spin applied the brakes. Sweeps and reverse-sweeps unsettled him early, yet in his final over he tossed one up, Nizakat holed out to long-on, next ball Kinchit Shah mis-read the wrong-un and was lbw. The youngster punched the air; a tidy 2-31 felt like justice for the earlier tap.
Skipper Yasim Murtaza briefly reignited the innings, 28 from 19, including the night’s only six – a pick-up over square leg that thudded into an empty seat. But once he skied Shoriful, Hong Kong’s hoped-for late surge never quite arrived. Fifty-four runs in the last six overs sounds healthy; on a dry surface with very short straight boundaries, it may be ten light.
Still, 143 is something to bowl at. “We’re probably 10-15 shy,” Murtaza admitted during the innings break, “yet if we hit our lengths early, you never know.” Bangladesh’s chase will hinge on how their top four handle Ayush Shukla’s brisk seam and the captain’s left-arm spin. The pitch hasn’t shown any demons, though an occasional ball stuck in the surface.
A tidy first half then: Hong Kong recover from 22-2, Bangladesh share the wickets around, and the Asia Cup continues to offer these small, quietly intriguing battles.
