Abu dhabi: Bangladesh made a winning start to their Asia Cup campaign, thrashing Hong Kong by seven wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi today. Hong Kong posted a moderate 143-7, a total that Bangladesh overhauled with relative ease, reaching 144-3 in 17.3 overs.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Captain Liton Das was instrumental in the victory, having smashed a 39-ball 59, featuring six fours and one six. This was his third fifty-plus knock in the last four matches and 15th overall, further cementing his status as the country’s top T20 batter. Bangladesh started its chase cautiously with the pitch looking sluggish. Opener Parvez Hossain Emon made 14 off 19 before Tanzid Hasan Tamim perished after a painstaking 14 off 18.
Liton also began watchfully with the Hong Kong bowlers bowling in a disciplined manner. Alongside him, Towhid Hridoy struggled to make an impact as Hong Kong appeared to be on top. However, the captain broke the shackle with a flurry of boundaries that quickly helped the side regain control. Ateeq Iqbal, who scalped 2-14, broke the 95-run partnership between Liton and Hridoy, dismissing the former as Bangladesh was just two runs shy of victory. Hridoy remained not out on 35 off 36 after hitting just one boundary.
Hong Kong fared slightly better than in their previous game regarding their batting. Nizakat Khan, who was the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s famous victory over Bangladesh in the 2014 World Cup in Chattogram, contributed with the bat this time. He made a laborious 40-ball 42 with two fours and one six to help Hong Kong recover from an early collapse and post a moderate total.
Hong Kong came as underdogs in this match despite winning their only game against Bangladesh in this format in 2014. Bangladesh justified their favorite tag with Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib giving them a torrid period in the first powerplay. Their combined efforts left Hong Kong at 30-2 in the fifth over before captain Yasim Murtaza and Zeeshan Ali shared a slow-paced 41 runs.
Tanzim broke through with the wicket of Zeeshan, who made 30 off 34. With Nizakat’s support, Yasim launched an attack on Bangladesh bowlers, but he was eventually run out after scoring 28 off 19 with two fours and two sixes. Bangladesh bowlers then stifled Hong Kong batters, but Nizakat guided the lower order to take the side past 140. Taskin, Tanzim, and Rishad Hossain took two wickets each for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka on Saturday to make a significant move toward the Super 4 phase.