Efficient finishes with both the ball and bat propel Hong Kong to Asian Games quarterfinals

BY IRA GORAWARA

HANGZHOU, CN - Early jolts with the bat and ball weren’t enough to deter Hong Kong from paving its path to the Asian Games quarterfinals.

Both Japan and Hong Kong entered Sunday’s matchup riding on a victory over Cambodia – the only other contestant in Group B of the Asian Games. As such, Sunday’s affair became a must-win for both teams to secure the group’s top spot and advance in this tournament.

Hong Kong’s skipper Nizakat Khan capitalized on a coin toss victory, bringing his bowling attack in to commence the do-or-die fixture. After a ruthless disassembly of Cambodia’s batting lineup for 70 runs two days prior, a momentum-ridden Hong Kong squad looked to restrict the Japanese batsmen in a similar fashion.

Opening batsman Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake generated early pressure for Hong Kong, mustering 23 runs in the first four overs, punctuated by three boundaries and a maximum off just 10 deliveries. The 20-year-old demonstrated finesse and versatility in his batting attack, dispatching balls to the ropes with an impressive repertoire of cricket shots. A scoop over the keeper’s head in the third over left Hong Kong struggling to find answers to the in-form batsman.

In the 15 deliveries after his opening partners’ dismissal, Yamamoto summoned up 27 runs to push Japan’s total to 83. Left arm medium-fast bowler Niaz Ali’s breakthrough in the 10th over saw Yamamoto’s dismissal at deep square leg after completing a 35-ball 60 assault with the blade.

Once medium-fast bowler Nasrulla Rana entered the fray in Hong Kong’s bowling attack, Japan’s forecasted total diminished, and its batting order crumbled. Hong Kong saw four dismissals in the subsequent two overs, with off-spinners Anas Khan and Ehsan Khan joining in on the act to contribute two scalps apiece.

Japan was seeing an utter flip of its batting script, as a promising 114/3 posting after 14 overs regressed to a precarious 118/7 just two overs later. Hong Kong’s Ayush Shukla set the tone for his final overs of the affair after delivering a good-length delivery that pitched on Reo Sakurano's middle stump and struck his front pad before making any contact with the ball. This LBW ousting was followed by two more dismissals by the young pacer, cutting Japan’s innings short at 127 runs.

Hong Kong's bowlers erased their opponent's promising beginning after engineering a downfall of their batting lineup. Hong Kong's bowlers were also the ones to seize control of what seemed like a seesaw battle towards the end of Hong Kong's run chase.

A double-digit effort by each of Hong Kong’s first four batsmen created a stable innings for the squad, but kept the game neck-and-neck as the quartet was striking at nearly exactly what the required run rate demanded.

With five overs remaining in Hong Kong’s chase, it lost what became its final dismissal of the game. Sitting at 95/5, Hong Kong required 33 in the final 30 deliveries with bowlers Rana and E. Khan on their creases.

But Rana had no intention of exhausting the full five overs to reach his team's target.

The right-hand batsman sailed a bouncer-length delivery over the keeper’s head to conclude the 16th over, bringing ease to a tense Hong Kong pavilion. And in the penultimate over of the contest, Rana tallied three boundaries in four deliveries, peppering the deep mid-wicket in the first two, and then securing a mammoth maximum towards deep cover to lead his team past its 128-run target.

Hong Kong’s masterful finish with the ball and bat has propelled it to the top of the Group B table. In a showdown against a global top-three cricketing nation, it will take the field against Pakistan on Tuesday afternoon for the 2023 Asian Games quarterfinals.