Chapman, Nizakat, Haseeb star as Hong Kong beat Namibia by 76 runs

Hong Kong has beaten Namibia by 76 runs in the second of three Super Six matches to keep their World Cup dream alive. The win puts them in touching distance of a World Cup berth with one more game to play, but their fate now rests in the hands of others.

Batting first after winning the toss, Hong Kong got off to another shaky start and were tottering at 3-37 in the seventh over but recovered strongly thanks to a 155-run fourth wicket partnership between Mark Chapman and Nizakat Khan. Chapman played smartly for his 82, hitting seven boundaries in his 111 ball innings, while Nizakat's 85 came off 114 balls and included six boundaries and one six. With a solid foundation set, the batsmen that followed were able to play shots with freedom and 91 runs were added to Hong Kong's total in the last 10 overs. Babar Hayat clubbed 24 from 16 balls while Tanwir smote 21 from 10 balls as Hong Kong raced to an impressive 283-9 from their 50 overs. Louis Klazinga was the best of the Namibian bowlers, claiming 4-65 in his ten over spell.

Namibia got off to a blazing start with Stephan Baard clubbing three fours off Haseeb Amjad's opening over. But Tanwir Afzal grabbed the first breakthrough for Hong Kong and when Haseeb picked up two more wickets, Namibia had been pegged back to 3-48 in the tenth over. Nadeem Ahmed and Nizakat Khan then got into the wicket-taking action and when Gerri Snyman was run-out by Nizakat Khan, Namibia looked dead and buried at 5-94 after 21 overs. A 70-run fifth wicket stand between Craig Williams and Chritsi Viljoen kept Namibia in the game but the partnership was broken when Nadeem came back for his second spell to claim the dangerous Williams, caught and bowled, for 59. Haseeb returned for his second spell and he immediately picked up the wickets of Smitt and Viljoen, both clean bowled, to boost his tally as the tournament's leading wicket-taker. Tanwir mopped up the tail and Namibia was vanquished by 76 runs, to end any World Cup dreams they might have had. For Hong Kong, Haseeb finished with the fine figures of 4-33 to take his tournament tally to 17 while Tanwir grabbed 3-41.

Match Summary: Hong Kong 283-9 from 50 overs (Mark Chapman 82, Nizakat Khan 85; Louis Klazinga 4-65) beat Namibia 207 from 43.3 overs (Craig Williams 59, Christi Viljoen 40; Tanwir Afzal 3-41, Haseeb Amjad 4-33) by 76 runs [Full Scorecard]

Hong Kong will face PNG in the final Super Six match to be played on Thursday, 30th February. A victory will leave Hong Kong with a chance of making it to the next World Cup but their fate now relies upon the outcome of the other games as UAE and/or Scotland will need to slip up against Namibia and Kenya respectively for Hong Kong to get through.

Hong Kong's last Super Six match will be against PNG at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln on 30th January 2014 (start time 0530 HKT). The match will be stremaed live on the ICC's website at https://www.icc-cricket.com.