Hong Kong have been beaten by Zimbabwe in their opening ICC World Twenty20 fixture in an entertaining tournament opener.

After Zimbabwe posted 158-8 in their 20 overs, Hong Kong produced a late flurry to produce a tense finish but ultimately fell 14 runs short.

Hong Kong captain Tanwir Afzal was the star performer, he took 2-19 off his four overs and then smashed 31 off 17 balls.

Jamie Atkinson played the anchor role with the bat – he struck 53 off 44 balls, which included two towering sixes.

Tanwir said that despite the disappointment of losing, he saw many positives in his side’s performance.

“Our plan was to bowl first and to restrict them for less than 140, and I think we managed that really well in the middle overs. We were in a position to control them, to restrict them below 145. The last few overs weren’t really good, so I think we had a very good plan that we executed well until the last few overs.”

“Even with their total, we knew we could chase that total and we know our batting ability, we can chase that.”

"We know that if we can save the wickets in the powerplay, we can accelerate later on. But unfortunately, we were able to save the wickets, but we couldn’t get our target in the powerplay. Credit goes to the Zimbabweans, they bowled really well in the powerplay."

"We know that we are still alive in the group, and we will work very hard to produce better results in the next game.”

Reflecting on his all-round performance, Tanwir said: “It’s all about the team and team work. Forget about my performance – if we win, that is a big thing for me.”

Hong Kong will have one rest day before it faces Afghanistan in a night match at the VCA Stadium, Nagpur, on 10 March.