Atkinson and Waqas Barkat's 42-run partnership is HKG's highest for the 2nd wicket in T20Is, breaking the record of 9 between Atkinson and Waqas Barkat

Waqas Barkat and Mark Chapman's 60-run partnership is HKG's highest for the 3rd wicket in T20Is, breaking the record of 28 between Waqas Barkat and Babar Hayat

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Shahzad, Shafiqullah power Afghanistan to seven-wicket win

Mohammad Shahzad, Afghanistan's most prolific Twenty20 batsman, came back to form when it mattered to power his team to a seven-wicket win over Hong Kong

18-Mar-2014•The Report by Mohammad Isam in Chittagong

Match centre

Scorecard summary

Hong Kong1 Inn

153/8(20 overs)

38 (43)

2/27 (4)

32 (32)

2/27 (4)

Afghanistan2 Inn

154/3(18 overs)

68 (53)

1/19 (3)

*51 (24)

1/35 (4)

Over18

11 runs

AFG 154/3CRR: 8.55

Shafiqullah 51 (24b 5x4 3x6)Mohammad Nabi 6 (5b)

Haseeb Amjad1/35 (4)

So Afghanistan get to live for another day. Thanks for being with us, the next match is about to start. So see you over there. Ciao ciao

Mohammad Shahzad is the Man of the Match. He says, "I didn't play well in the last two matches so the coach told me to take my time. Everybody supported me in the match. It was a good fifty for me and it was a good win for us. In t20, everything is possible. We need to see the result of the next match and hopefully we can make it to the next round"

Wonderful innings by Shafiqullah towards the end. It looked like the game was set to be a thriller once Shahzad was brilliantly caught at the boundary, but Shafiqullah was unstoppable - his 24 runs in the 17th over making it an easy jog for Afghanistan. Hong Kong are out of the tournament

17.6

Haseeb Amjad to Shafiq, FOUR runs

Yes he can! he bends down on his knee and whacks the slower delivery over deep square leg with a powerful sweep shot! Half-century for Shafiq off only 24 deliveries and a much-needed win for Afghanistan

Can he get to his fifty now?

17.5

Haseeb Amjad to M Nabi, 1 run

fuller delivery on off, Nabi drives it to long off for a single

17.4

•

Haseeb Amjad to M Nabi, no run

length delivery, pushed straight to midwicket

17.3

Haseeb Amjad to Shafiq, 1 run

low full toss on off, the batsman punches it to long on for a single

17.2

Haseeb Amjad to Shafiq, FOUR runs

no stopping Shafiqullah! It's a very good yorker, but the batsman is down on his knee and paddles this one fine down the leg side for another boundary. What poise! What hitting!

Rahul: "Afgans are keeping it cool here. Its a good comeback by the boys after the haywire batting against Bangladesh."

17.1

Haseeb Amjad to M Nabi, 1 run

starts off with a good yorker, the batsman flicks it to midwicket for a single

Over17

24 runs

AFG 143/3CRR: 8.41 RRR: 3.66

Shafiqullah 42 (21b 3x4 3x6)Mohammad Nabi 4 (2b)

Aizaz Khan1/39 (3)

16.6

Aizaz Khan to Shafiq, SIX runs

my god what a striker! This is length delivery on off and Shafiqullah sends this over deep square leg with a powerful swipe. Third six of the over. Hong Kong have been sixed out of this match now

16.5

Aizaz Khan to M Nabi, 3 runs

full delivery on the pads, the batsman tickles it down to the gap at deep square leg. But this third one could be the end of Shafiqullah as a good throw comes in quickly ..He dives to get back, but he could be in trouble..He has managed to slide the bat in.

16.4

Aizaz Khan to Shafiq, 1 run

now he smartly dabs it to off side for a quick single

16.3

Aizaz Khan to Shafiq, SIX runs

another monster strike! He looks like he not in control as he drags this length delivery from outside off, but it keeps going away.. over deep midwicket. That's flat and that's long. How good was that!

16.2

Aizaz Khan to Shafiq, 2 runs

he looks to pull this one to the leg side, but gets a top edge that beats the short fine leg fielder

16.1

Aizaz Khan to Shafiq, SIX runs

ho ho! Low full toss outside off, this is muscled with a lot of power over wide long on.. It disappears in the night sky. Powerful strike

35 off 24.. Should be easy with the seven wickets they have in hand

Over16

9 runs, 1 wicket

AFG 119/3CRR: 7.43 RRR: 8.75

Shafiqullah 21 (16b 3x4)Mohammad Nabi 1 (1b)

Haseeb Amjad1/24 (3)

15.6

Haseeb Amjad to Shafiq, 1 run

low full toss outside off, the bastman punches it to long on for a single

15.5

Haseeb Amjad to M Nabi, 1 run

fuller delivery outside off, driven down to long off with ease

15.4

Haseeb Amjad to Shafiq, 1 run

length delivery, punched to deep midwicket for a single

15.3

Haseeb Amjad to Shahzad, OUT

oh what a stunner! Magnifico! After all those drops, you don't expect these, but Irfan Ahmed takes a screamer to send Shahzad back. It was a slower delivery that the batsman punched over extra cover with wonderful timing - it looked set to make it to the boundary, but Irfan Ahmed dives forward to pluck it just above the grass. Call it my poor judgment but i was expecting that to be dropped as well

Mohammad Shahzad c Irfan Ahmed b Haseeb Amjad 68 (53b 6x4 3x6 69m) SR: 128.3

15.2

Haseeb Amjad to Shafiq, 1 run

full delivery on the stumps, the batsman clips it to deep midwicket for a single

Rohit: "The bowler too is aware that the batsman wants to maximize the risk-free opportunity and thus the bowler tries to ensure that he doesn't bowl a hit-me-for-six-since-you-have-no-risk delivery off a free hit. In the initial days, batsmen used to miss out because they tried to hit a six off it, but now, batsmen have become smarter and realize that 4 is better than a none. They can't play like that sans a free hit because the risk of getting out far outweighs the reward and also...the bowler isn't just trying to avoid a six of a normal delivery, he is trying to avoid getting hit for any runs whatsoever. "

15.2

Haseeb Amjad to Shafiq, 1 wide

oh dear, another one down the leg side! An easy call for the umpire

15.1

Haseeb Amjad to Shafiq, FOUR runs

poor delivery! A full toss on the pads. The batsman nonchalantly flicks it to deep backward square leg boundary. Hong Kong are coming apart

Over15

8 runs

AFG 110/2CRR: 7.33 RRR: 8.80

Mohammad Shahzad 68 (52b 6x4 3x6)Shafiqullah 14 (12b 2x4)

Irfan Ahmed0/15 (3)

Sai: "@MAB - All that is wired to something called SKILL."

14.6

Irfan Ahmed to Shahzad, FOUR runs

this is murderous now! He moves to the leg side, the bowler chases him with a back of length delivery, Shahzad then plays a cross-court forehand to power this to the deep midwicket boundary.

MAB: "@Kamran - there is one more character in Cricket called "Bowler", why your "Mindset" opinion only for batsmen? Why can't bowler hit the stumps on every bowl? :D"

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Best performances - batters

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Mohammad Shahzad

AFG

68 runs (53)

6 fours3 sixes

Productive shot

leg glance

22 runs

0 four2 sixes

Control