Hong Kong rout Denmark by 140 runs in ICC T20 warm-up

Hong Kong completed a confidence boosting 140-run thrashing of Denmark in the first of two per-tournament warm-up matches for the ICC World T20 Qualifier 2013 in UAE.

Batting first at The Sevens ground in Dubai, Hong Kong racked up an impressive 200-4 from their 20 overs with all the top order batsmen getting amongst the runs. Irfan Ahmed (45 from 26 balls) and Waqas Barkat (20 from 17) set the tone with an opening stand of 57 scored of 6.1 overs. Hong Kong skipper managed 15 from 14 balls and at the halfway mark in their innings, Hong Kong sat pretty at 86-3.

An explosive partnership between Nizakat Khan (40 from 28 balls) and Babar Hayat (69* off 37) reeled off 107 runs in just 58 balls to set up Hong Kong's big total. Overall, the Hong Kong batsmen hit an impressive 19 fours and 9 sixes.

Denmark's reply got off to a poor start with talisman Freddie Klokker run-out off the first ball of the second over. Worse was to follow as Denmark's top order folded meekly to leave the innings in disarray at 30-4 after 6.1 overs. A fifth wicket partnership worth 27 runs between Hamid Shah and Rizwan Mahmood was the best they could muster but when Mahmood was dismissed, the rest of the innings folded like a house of cards. Denmark all out for 60 off 14.2 overs.

For Hong Kong, Aizaz Khan picked up 3 wickets for 2 runs in 7 balls while Nizakat Khan completed a good double to claim 2-6 from his two overs.

Match Summary: Hong Kong 200-4 from 20 overs (Irfan Ahmed 45, Nizakat Khan 40, Babr Hayat 69*) beat Denmark 60 from 14.2 overs (Aizaz Khan 3-2) by 140 runs [Full Scorecard]

It was a very impressive all-round effort by the Hong Kong team against arguably one of the weaker teams in the tournament. Today's second warm-up match will be against one of the top-six contenders - Kenya. While still a warm-up match, the result will give Hong Kong a better indication of how well they will fare once tournament play gets underway on Friday.