Amjad, Ahmed star in big Hong Kong win

Haseeb Amjad, the right-arm paceman, took four wickets before Irfan Ahmed, the opening batsman and captain, scored an unbeaten 86 to help Hong Kong inflict a ten-wicket defeat on Nepal in a Group A match at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier at Rangiora Oval on Sunday (January 19).

After electing to field, Hong Kong’s bowlers came up with a spirited effort to reduce Nepal to 65 for 8 after 26.5 overs, with Paras Khadka (29) making the only contribution of note. However, Basant Regmi, the left-arm spinner, and Sompal Kami, the right-arm medium bowler, led a late surge, coming together for a 57-run partnership. After Kami was dismissed for 26 in the 42nd over, Regmi fought on, and was the dominant partner in a 22-run stand with Avinash Karn, who contributed just three runs, before Nepal finished on a paltry 150. Regmi scored 45.

Amjad, who had rocked the Nepal top order with some early strikes, finished with excellent figures of 4 for 40 from 9.3 overs. Aizaz Khan and Irfan were miserly too, returning figures of 2 for 28 and 2 for 29 respectively. Tanvir Afzal took 1 for 22, while Nadeem Ahmed’s ten overs fetched him 1 for 31.

Hong Kong made light work of the small target, knocking off the runs in 33.2 overs. Irfan’s 86, which included eight boundaries and four sixes, came off 97 balls. Waqas Barkat played second fiddle to his captain, remaining unbeaten on 56 off 106 balls with seven boundaries.

Regmi was economical, conceding just 29 runs off his nine overs. Sagar Pun, the off-spinner, gave away just eight runs in his four overs, but the target was too small to pose any real threat to Hong Kong.

This was Hong Kong’s second big win after the nine-wicket win over Canada on January 17 and its third win in the tournament, where it is unbeaten so far. It will now take on United Arab Emirates on January 23, while Nepal, still in search of its maiden win, faces Canada at Christchurch on January 21.