Nasrulla Rana guides Hong Kong to near-victory over PNG

BY IRA GORAWARA

KLANG, ML - Odds stacked against Hong Kong after its crumbling batting lineup posted 89 runs on the board.

When the side forced its opponents to muster under a run a ball in its batting attack – a feat commonly achieved in the T20I format – a sense of ease pervaded the Papua New Guinea pavilion.

But as events unfurled, perhaps this sense of ease bred complacency and nearly cost PNG a game that seemed entirely in its hands.

In the final showdown of the T20I Tri-Nations Cup, Hong Kong met PNG in a chance to seek retribution. A victory in the match would secure Hong Kong’s sole one of the tournament.

The luck of the coin toss fell in command of PNG’s captain Assad Vala, who opted to take the field first and restrict his opponents’ efforts with the stick. A caught-behind decision quickly eliminated Hong Kong’s opener Muhammad Khan from his crease before he could open his account.

The arrival of Hong Kong’s one-down batsman usually ignites hope to its pavilion, as right-hand batsman Babar Hayat – also titled “run machine” – takes to the field. But for the first time in this tournament, Hayat fell for less than 15 runs, quickly extinguishing that spark of hope for Hong Kong. As Hayat attempted to play toward the leg side, Vala caught his leading edge straight up in the air and ensured no slip-ups in securing what was arguably the most important wicket.

In a similar fashion to previous games, Hayat’s departure triggered a collapse of Hong Kong’s batting lineup. Hong Kong found itself at 48/4 halfway through its innings – leaving it up to its middle-order batsman to complete the side’s attack and generate a defendable total.

Right-hand batsman Akbar Khan’s wicket set the stage for Hong Kong’s most stable partnership to take root. Nasrulla Rana and Ehsan Khan steered their side’s ship for nearly seven more overs. And despite just one delivery seeing the ropes in that time, the duo brought some kind of stability to Hong Kong’s disintegration.

Rana was seen off his crease right before the final two overs commenced, after which three more batters were ousted and Hong Kong had completed its innings with 89/9 on the board.

PNG required 4.50 runs per over to depart Malaysia with four wins under its belt.

A promising opening over from Hong Kong’s Ayush Shukla was quickly thwarted by four boundaries and one maximum in the ensuing three overs. The right-arm pacer bent his back to

generate pace in his bowling, knocking off Tony Ura’s stumps after finding the batsman’s inside edge.

Off-spinner Ehsan Khan took the reins in the fifth over, continuing on his end of the field till the end of the 11th when he had taken two wickets for 14 runs. Two plumb deliveries sent off PNG’s Lega Siaka and Vala during E. Khan’s spell.

PNG’s required run rate was gradually dwindling as it needed 3.44 per over after the 11th. But then, one man orchestrated a reversal of Hong Kong’s tide.

Nasrulla Rana was on a hat-trick just two balls after the start of the 12th over. Right-hand batsman Hiri Hiri saw his stumps cartwheel off his wicket, as a yorker by Rana dismissed the well-settled batter. The new batsman – Kiplin Doriga – was sent off for a golden duck after Rana’s in-swinging delivery hit the top of his off stump, beating the gap between Doriga and his pads.

The right-arm medium-fast bowler was orchestrating a turnaround for Hong Kong – and he had barely scratched the surface of his impact.

Rana stepped into the final six deliveries of his spell in the 16th over. After forcing the dangerous wicket of Charles Amini and Michael Charlie, Rana bowled John Kariko all ends up and sent waves of worry to PNG’s pavilion. The 16th over witnessed a triple-wicket maiden, giving the PNG men a run for their money as Rana was running through their lineup. With its opponents at 77/9, Hong Kong was not ready to throw in the towel.

After the Player of the Match completed his stint, four overs were left to play and just 13 runs were necessary for PNG. A dropped catch at the boundary shattered Hong Kong’s hopes at a historic victory, and PNG managed the 90-run mark in the 19th over to clinch the game.

The Hong Kong men played out of their skins to make a match out of what seemed like a one-sided affair, as captain Khan made all the right decisions and Rana delivered a record-breaking six-wicket haul.

The momentum Hong Kong’s bowling attack has mustered will be pivotal ahead of the 2023 Asian Games. The squad gears up for its first matchup of the tournament against Cambodia on Friday morning in Hangzhou, China.