Pakistan brings Hong Kong’s Asian Games campaign to an end

BY IRA GORAWARA

HANGZHOU, CN - The Hong Kong men competed away from home turf for nearly three weeks.

The onset of their stint on the road consistently saw subpar performances with the bat and ball – a bowling attack that was, at times, conceding 10 runs per over, and a batting attack that couldn’t stay intact. When neither effort can do the groundwork for victory, disappointments arise – just as it did for Hong Kong.

But after struggling to establish a presence on the road, Hong Kong rewrote its novel in the latter half of their road stretch. A six-wicket haul by medium-fast bowler Nasrulla Rana brought Hong Kong just a whisker away from defending an 89-run total against PNG, laying the groundwork for improved displays in both the bowling and batting departments thereafter.

So although Hong Kong surrendered a 68-run defeat to Pakistan to see its way out of the 2023 Asian Games, there’s little to criticize the men in blue and red for after seeing an upward trend throughout the T20I Tri-Nations Cup and Asian Games.

Just four balls into Hong Kong’s bowling attack, young pacer Ayush Shukla ignited an aggressive spark for his side after opener Mirza Baig nicked a good length delivery to the safe hands of Babar Hayat at first slip. Shukla mirrored his prowess in his second over, disrupting Rohail Nazir's stride following two sixes. A scorching delivery created an unplayable shot for Nazir, as the ball nestled safely in the keeper's hands.

Off-spinner Ehsan Khan – the bowler at the other end – joined in on the act in the subsequent over, contacting Haider Ali’s front leg in a ball pitched straight to his middle stump to remove him for an LBW-decision. Pakistan was crumbling before the powerplay could end.

A much-needed partnership between Qasim Akram and Omair Yousuf emerged for Pakistan, as the duo steered the ship through turbulent waters, infusing stability to a previously-tumultuous batting lineup.

Hong Kong wasn’t pleased with a wicket-less four overs, so Anas Khan compensated for the drought with a double-wicket over in the 9th. By the halfway point, Pakistan was in dire straits at 60/5.

A mighty attempt by Asif Ali to slice one to backward point just led to his removal, as Mohammad Ghazanfar sent pangs of worry to a tense Pakistani pavilion. Luckily for the men in green, however, in came Aamer Jamal – the explosive batsman who tallied 41 runs in 16 deliveries, including 25 in Shukla’s final over. His production pushed Pakistan to 160 by the 20-over and 10-wicket mark.

Back-to-back boundaries illustrated the onset of Hong Kong’s batting attack, as skipper Nizakat Khan scythed the deliveries to midwicket and point, respectively. Although his opening partner in Muhammad Khan was ousted in the subsequent over, Hong Kong’s trusted offensive ace Babar Hayat marked his territory with a forceful boundary in his first ball.

The N. Khan–Hayat partnership was in its brewing stages, as the destructive duo was beginning to anchor their side’s innings. But the sinking of Captain Khan’s stumps in the sixth over triggered a similar collapse of his squad.

Hayat summoned some vigor for Hong Kong, capitalizing on the shorter deliveries and appeared to be generating a poised innings. Unfortunately, Hayat’s expulsion had one effector – Hong Kong would suffer the departure a player in nearly every subsequent over.

So between the 10th and 14th overs, Hong Kong picked up just 11 runs alongside four wickets, as the prospect of a successful run-chase was continuously diminishing. When the team needed 93 runs from 30 balls in the death overs, the potential was almost entirely contracted.

Any efforts to engineer a Hong Kong revival proved insufficient, as Pakistan bowled Hong Kong out and advanced to the Asian Games 2023 semifinals.

The remarkable efforts Sunday afternoon and over the past three weeks have granted us many occasions to applaud the Hong Kong men and appreciate the transformation from game one to today – regardless of the final verdict.

It’ll be back to the nets and drawing boards for coach Simon Willis’ squad as he now looks to gear his men toward the World Cup Qualifiers later this month.