Barkat, Lamsam rock-solid as HK ease past Nepal

Hong Kong will have to thank Waqas Barkat and Roy Lamsam for getting their campaign in the men's cricket Twenty20 competition off on a joyous note after the pair put on a match-winning partnership of 67 runs which proved decisive in 30-run victory over Nepal.

In the end, the total of 115 was put beyond the reach of Nepal - who finished on 85 for nine - by a good all-round bowling performance with left-arm spinners Nadeem Ahmed and Najeeb Amar bowling tightly.

But things had looked bleak earlier for Hong Kong who was stuttering at 47 for four wickets in the 10th over, until Barkat strode in confidently to join opener Lamsam.

The young wicket-keeper batsman seems to be a fan of Sri Lankan test player Tillekeratne Dilshan for he favoured the Dilscoop as he scored a fair number of his 31 runs behind the wicket, and coming at a run-a-ball it gave impetus to an innings which was crying for momentum.

"I'm so happy that I was able to score. We knew once we scored over 100 runs it would be tough for them to chase as we have a few good spinners," Barkat said.

The importance of Lamsam, who top-scored with 47 which included five boundaries, was that he stuck around and kept one end going. He was the perfect foil for Barkat and the fifth-wicket partnership steered Hong Kong out of troubled waters at a packed Guangdong Cricket Stadium.

"That was a crucial partnership and set us up nicely for victory," said head coach Charlie Burke. "Winning is so important in this format where our quarterfinal opponents will depend on how we perform in our opening two games. It (winning) also gets us into the swing of things and hopefully becomes a habit."

With Sri Lanka and Afghanistan having drawn a bye into the quarterfinals, the winner of this preliminary group which also includes the Maldives, will play Afghanistan while the second-placed team comes up against gold-medal favourites Sri Lanka.

Hong Kong skipper Najeeb decided to bat after winning the toss, but opening with Lamsam, lasted only two balls when an ungainly cross-bat swipe saw the ball balloon to a fielder.

Jamie Atkinson was dismissed in the next over trying to slog the bowler over his head and Hong Kong were four for two. Irfan Ahmed looked in fine touch, hitting successive boundaries off Binod Das, but was out trying to be too ambitious. When Ilyas Gull was run out with the score on 47, things were looking grim, until Barkat and Lamsam turned things around.

"The plan was just to stay in the middle and help (Roy) get some runs," Barkat said. Lamsam, who was run-out three runs short of a well-deserved 50, added: "It was a good partnership. I took a while to get going but once Waqas came in, he batted freely and I gained confidence."

The win will also give Hong Kong a huge boost of confidence as they face the Maldives on Tuesday. A win will ensure them a berth against Afghanistan, the lesser of the two evils in the quarterfinals.