ICC associate member Hong Kong pulled a huge upset on the opening day of the ICC World Twenty20 warm-up games as they handed Test playing nation Zimbabwe a four-wicket defeat in Chittagong yesterday. Meanwhile, Afghanistan and Ireland picked wins in their respective games against Nepal and Netherlands.
Zimbabwe v Hong Kong
Riding on middle-order batsman Mark Chapman’s unbeaten 53 Hong Kong reached their target of 154 in the last ball of the innings. Chapman faced 33 balls and slammed four boundaries and three sixes while he was well supported by Tanwir Afzal (37* off 21 balls) to secure a huge win for Hong Kong.
Earlier, Hong Kong justified their decision of fielding first by restricting Zimbabwe to 153/7. After losing Hamilton Masakadza in the second over, a 42-run partnership between Sikandar Raza and skipper Brendan Taylor steadied their ship. Late surge from Vusi Sibanda (31) and Elton Chigumbura (45) helped the Zimbabwean’s reach the modest T20 total.
Ireland v Nepal
Ireland claimed an easy last over win over Nepal in the second warm-up game at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.
Nepal never looked a comfortable batting unit in front of the Irish bowlers as Gyanendra Malla (47) top scored in their 137/7.
Later, Ireland chased the target in 19.1 overs with five wickets to spare with opening batsman and skipper William Porterfield leading the side with a 35-ball 38.
Afghanistan v Netherlands
Right-arm pacer Aftab Alam’s four wickets haul allowed Afghanistan to secure a 35-run victory against Netherlands in a curtailed game at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Mohammad Nabi’s 25-ball 40 and 39 apiece from Karim Sadiq and Shafiqullah saw the Afghans register 150/7. Netherlands’ chase was disrupted by floodlight issues. The target was curtailed to 122 runs from 15 overs as the Dutchmen were bowled out for 86 in the 13th over. Four players were bowled and only four were able to reach double figures, with opener Michael Swart top scoring with a 15-ball 20.Left-arm spinner Hamza Hotak grabbed three wickets in 2.3 overs to go along with Aftab’s four.
Brief Score:
Ireland v Nepal
Nepal: 137/7 in 20 overs
(Malla 47, Khadka 31, Kevin 2/22)
Ireland: 141/5 in 19.1 overs
(Porterfield 38, Wilson 31*, Mukhiya 3/24)
Ireland won by 5 wickets
Hong Kong v Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: 153/7 in 20 overs
(Chigumbura 45*, Raza 32, Sibanda 31, Irfan 3/25)
Hong Kong: 159/6 in 20 overs
(Chapman 53*, Afzal 37*, Utseya 3/19)
Hong Kong won by 4 wickets
Netherlands v Afghanistan
Afghanistan: 150/7 in 20 overs
(Nabi 40, Shafiqullah 39, Karim 39, Malik 3/28)
Netherlands: 86 all-out in 12.3 overs
(Swart 20, Aftab 4/25, Hamza 3/16)
Afghanistan won by 35 runs (D/L method)