Pakistan and Hong Kong clashed in the important Group A clash in the Asia cup 2022 on Friday. Both the teams fielded an unchanged lineup in the crucial fixture. Hong Kong captain Nizakat Khan won the toss and decided to invite Pakistan to bat first. The Pakistan openers captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan walked in to bat to give a good start to the team in the all-important clash.
Hong Kong gave an early blow to the Pakistan team as they picked up the important wicket of Babar Azam in the third over. Ehsan Khan removed the Pakistan Captain as he completed a caught and bowled dismissal. Following Azam’s dismissal, Fakhar Zaman walked in to bat to stabilize the Pakistan innings. The duo batted cautiously and decided to get set at the crease. The pair carried the innings forward and scored boundaries at regular intervals.
Both batters reached their half-centuries at a decent rate and decided to carry the attack on the opposition in the final overs. The partnership was finally ended as Ehsan Khan struck again and removed the well-set Fakhar Zaman. Zaman scored 53 off 41 balls, smashing three fours and two sixes in his innings.
Zaman’s dismissal brought Khushdil Shah to the crease who came in with the clear intention to attack. Shah and Rizwan began scoring freely in the final overs. Shah plundered five monstrous sixes and took the team’s total to 193 after their allotted 20 overs. Shah scored an unbeaten 35 off 15 balls while Rizwan remained unbeaten on 78 off 57 balls.
The Hong Kong batters had a huge task in front of them of chasing down the mammoth total. They got off a bizarre start as Naseem Shah picked up two quick wickets at the top as they were left reeling at 16/2 after 2.5 overs. The batters seemed to be in a hurry as they came and decided to go for the big shots right from ball one. The Pakistan spinners quickly came into the act and spun the web around Hong Kong.
Hong Kong batters didn’t have an answer to Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz as they suffered a dramatic collapse. The team went from 25/4 to 38 all out and registered the ninth lowest total in T20 internationals. Pakistan registered their second biggest win in T20 internationals as they won the match by 155 runs. Shadab Khan picked up 4/8 in 2.4 overs while Mohammad Nawaz picked up 3/5 in 2 overs.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Pakistan’s emphatic win:
Me watching #PAKvsHKG : pic.twitter.com/c1ru6ewey7
— ???? ? (@Call_me_mohtrma) September 2, 2022
#PAKvsHKG
Hong Kong batters be like?? pic.twitter.com/bvoyaJeap8— Muzammal (@Muzamma24842780) September 2, 2022
Pakistan register biggest victory in their T20I cricket history! ???
pak won by 155 runs????#PAKvsHKG— ?itz_ÀJ??? (@AamirJa16001473) September 2, 2022
Pakistan's Made Us #Khushdil ?#PAKvHKG #PakVsHKG pic.twitter.com/qhHKpS1nEo
— S.FATIMAM.H OFFICIAL (@s_fatimam_h) September 2, 2022
Han g are you ready India?
Pakistani team like a phopho? Samaj rahy o na #PAKvsHKG pic.twitter.com/1dFBWFJePu— Samar Malik (@its_Samarr) September 2, 2022
After a sensational fight with India, the way Pakistan beat Hong Kong today, Pakistan is the favorite for the #AsiaCup, ? @iMRizwanPak and @FakharZamanLive 's innings were outstanding, Pakistan not only bowled well against India, but against Hong Kong were huge.#PAKvsHKG
— Saeed Anwar (@ImSaeedAnwar) September 2, 2022
Bhai thora match phasane ki acting hi kar lete. humain heart attack ke sath match dekhne ki adat hai#PAKvsHKG
— Khurram (@Saykhurram) September 2, 2022
Unbelievable All team Out on 38 Runs ??
Well done Team Pakistan ????#PAKvsHKG #PAKvsHK #AsiaCup2022— Muhammad Subhan (@Muhamma25239348) September 2, 2022
Yeh be koi team thi #PAKvsHKG
— Hamza (@KootRakhbaway) September 2, 2022
So this was the team, Indians were calling "Mighty Hon kong" ???#PAKvsHKG pic.twitter.com/JpChhqIwxU
— Ebad Ur Rehman (@EbadurRehmanS1) September 2, 2022
Aisy to Waseem Akram ka Ariel kpdy b nae dhota jsy pakistanio ny hong kong ko dhoya ha
I don't like such matches
Congratulations Pakistan#PakVsHkg— Mashi (@AyeshaNazar5) September 2, 2022
This is beast mode #pakvshkg
Well played pak players— M Sohaib Awan (@sohaibonly2005) September 2, 2022
