Twitter Reactions: Sarfraz Ahmed and Co topple Hong Kong to open their account in Asia Cup 2018

Pakistan turned out to be a too hot to handle for the qualifying team.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

4 Min Read

Sarfraz Ahmed
info
Sarfraz Ahmed. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Hong Kong weren’t expected to pose much of a threat to a power-packed Pakistan and the second match of the Asia Cup in Dubai eventually turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Men in Green registered their first victory by eight wickets. Once the bowlers skidded Hong Kong out for 116, it was a matter of time before the Pakistani top order accomplished the target without much fuss.

Hong Kong crawl along

After the qualifying team won the toss and elected to bat first, opener Nizakat Khan scorched a couple of boundaries but fell prey to a direct hit from Shadab Khan. Skipper Anshuman Rath put his head down, however, Faheem Ashraf picked him up. Babar Hayat strained for a 29-ball seven and was nipped out by Shadab Khan. Prior to that Hasan Ali also added to the wickets column.

Kinchit Shah and Aizaz Khan staved off the Pakistani attack with expertise and stitched together a stand of 53 runs from 83 balls. Just when it seemed that the duo was taking Hong Kong to respectability, left-arm seamer Usman Khan castled Aizaz and thereafter pinned a couple of more batters, and reduced Rath’s men to 97/8. Hong Kong’s innings came to a close courtesy of Ehsan Nawaz’s run out.

To order does the job for Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq opened the batting and didn’t quite blaze away, but kept ensuring that they chip away at the target. The duo put on 41 runs from 49 balls after which off-spinner Ehsan Khan found Zaman’s bottom edge. Babar Azam, who has incredible records, playing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), joined Imam and pretty much looked at ease.

They milked the bowling for singles and churned out the odd boundary to keep the scoreboard ticking. Ehsan Khan separated them by dismissing Babar for 33 runs. Both of Ehsan’s wickets came in a similar manner, caught by Scott McKechnie behind the wickets. Shoaib Malik came in next and he along with the left-handed Imam, who notched an impressive half-century, took Pakistan over the finishing line.

Here is how Twitter reacted

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