23 September 2023
Despite promising start, Hong Kong batsmen fall apart
BY IRA GORAWARA
KLANG, ML - Hong Kong is on the brink of boasting an equal number of losses and wins in the T20I format this year.
The squad achieved four consecutive victories in this year’s T20I Quadrangular series, but has since suffered three defeats in one week – nearly leveling out its win-loss tally.
Just three days after Hong Kong suffered a 102-run defeat at the hands of the hosts, the visitors took to Bayuemas Oval in a bid to rewrite Tuesday’s outcome and seek redemption against Malaysia.
Captain Nizakat Khan's luck in the coin toss ran dry, as Hong Kong was forced into opening the bowling attack. Deviating from its usual opening bowlers, right-arm medium pacer Adil Mehmood and right-arm off-spinner Ehsan Khan operated on either end – a tactical move that paid dividends as Malaysia’s first three batsmen departed within the first three overs.
Mehmood capped off an expensive 11-run opening over with the dismissal of Zubaidi Zulkifle, followed by E. Khan putting an end to both openers’ fortune with a plumb delivery to Syed Aziz. With two contributing just six runs apiece for their side, walking back to the pavilion before the two-over mark, Hong Kong recognized some control of the innings.
Right-arm pacer Ayush Shukla quickly joined in on the act and knocked the crowns off Muhammad Amir Azim’s wicket just three balls into his spell. The visitors waved goodbye to Azim and his one-run effort, positioning Malaysia at 17/3 with the middle order batsmen in after three overs of play.
Virandeep Singh and captain Ahmed Faiz thwarted a lackluster start for their side, building a steady partnership of nearly 11 overs. Hong Kong couldn’t summon up a response to Singh’s innings, as he crossed the half-century mark in the 16th. Regardless of any dismissals on the other end, Singh was set at his crease and continued to anchor Malaysia’s innings.
Sitting at 129/6 after 19 overs – a total some considered subpar – Singh took lead in the 20th over. He posted a critical 20 runs in the final six deliveries, forcing Hong Kong to rack up a competitive 150 runs with the stick.
After Hong Kong’s opening batsman M. Khan was clean bowled early by Rizwan Haider, curtains fell on the Babar Hayat show. Hong Kong’s “run-machine” arrived to his crease – where he would stay for the next 11 overs and contribute a vital 49 runs – to his side’s sum.
Just 14 runs into Hayat’s attack, Azim dropped a dolly of a catch on Haider’s bowling at square leg. A shot that looked right into the fielder’s hands was fumbled, costing Malaysia a vital opportunity to curtail Hayat’s innings. Both Haider and Vijay Unni were creating chances but weren’t finding support from their fielders as the fifth and sixth overs saw several missed opportunities.
Captain Khan’s dismissal soon after incited yet another veteran-youngster partnership in Hayat and Shiv Mathur, a duo that ultimately yielded 59 runs.
By the 10-over mark, Hong Kong looked on top of the game as Mathur took the pressure off of Hayat as the duo displayed disciplined batting. Misfields plagued Malaysia as Hayat’s innings extended, and the powerhouse continued his destruction. 15-year-old Mathur showed experience and maturity in his strokes in just his third-ever international matchup.
Hayat took Malaysia’s bowlers downtown on three occasions, contributing monstrous shots to reduce his side’s required run rate and edge closer to the 150-run target. His aggressive-yet-steady attack allowed him to capitalize on any short delivery, exhibiting his batting prowess.
With just above five overs left of play and 48 required to win, a catch at the boundary courtesy of Unni’s bowling dismissed Hayat – exactly what the hosts needed to hike up the run rate and diminish any hope that had emerged in the visitors’ dugout.
‘Player of the Match’ Singh knocked down two more pins in Hong Kong’s lineup soon after Hayat’s dismissal, and it was all downhill from there as Hong Kong’s batting woes persisted unabated with the men crumbling one by one for the third consecutive time this tournament. .
An over-reliance on Hayat became Hong Kong’s undoing, as his wicket spurred four in the final five overs. The final two overs were 24 runs underpar, as Hong Kong struggled to see the ropes when it needed to most, instead managing just nine runs in the final 12 deliveries. For the second time this week, Malaysia bested Hong Kong by 23 runs.
Hong Kong will have to sharpen its death-over batting as it squares off against PNG on Sept. 24 at 10:30 a.m. at Bayuemas Oval, the tournament’s ultimate showdown before Hong Kong journeys to Hangzhou for the 2023 Asian Games.