Pakistan-Hong Kong
Pakistan rout Hong Kong, set up date with India in Asia Cup Super 4
Sharjah: Pakistan on Friday routed Hong Kong by 155 runs in a must-win match to set up a Super 4 date against India on September 4 in the Super 4 match of 2022 Asia Cup.
Pakistan bundled out Hong Kong for a mere 38 runs after they blew their rivals by sheer pace and ran them down with help of their mesmerising spin duo Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan, who picked 7 wickets for 13 runs in 28 balls.
This was Pakistan's biggest T20 win ever, improving upon their previous record of bowling out West Indies for 60 at Karachi in 2018. It just took 64 balls to achieve this gigantic feat after posting a mammoth 193 for 2.
None of Hong Kong batsmen could reach double digit with 8 being the highest individual score that was notched up by Captain Nizakat Khan.
As many as three batsmen - Babar Hayat, Ehsan Khan and Mohammad Ghazanfar - failed to open accounts.
Aizaz Khan and Ayush Shukla got just one, indicating the decimation they received at the hands of Pakistan bowling.
Mohammad Rizwan (78 no off 57) and Fakhar Zaman (53) set the stage, before Khushdil Shah (35 no off 15 5x6s) came in with the fireworks, and then Naseem (2/7), Shadab (4/8) and Nawaz (3/5) just ran through the opposition.
Hong Kong showed some fight against India the other day chasing a near-identical target, but it's been a very different story here in Sharjah.
Batting first, Pakistan started on a cautious note after losing the prize wicket of Captain Babar Azam early on. They were 129/1 in 16 overs with the help of Rizwan and Zaman's fifties, but not before eating up far too many balls.
Zaman's wicket proved a good omen for Pakistan as Khusdil walked in and started to play aggressive shots to boost the target. Pakistan pilfered 55 runs in the last three overs, taking full advantage of a raw bowling attack.
Brief scores: Pakistan 193/2 in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 78*, Fakhar Zaman 53, Khushdil Shah 35*; Ehsan Khan 2-28) beat Hong Kong 38 all out in 10.4 overs (Shadab Khan 4-8, Mohammad Nawaz 3-5) by 155 runs.
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