Irfan Ahmed stars as Hong Kong thump Malaysia in ACC T20 Cup 2013 opener

A blistering assault by Irfan Ahmed has powered Hong Kong to a six-wicket victory over Malaysia in the opening round of the ACC Twenty20 2013 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Hong Kong could not have wished for a better start to their campaign as Tanwir Afzal bowled Ulah Khan off the first ball of the game after skipper Jamie Atkinson had won the toss and put the opposition in to bat. Tanwir picked up a second wicket in the fifth over and at the end of the powerplay, Malaysia's score was 2-29. Tight Hong Kong bowling kept the run scoring in check with Irfan Ahmed only conceding 3 runs from his opening two-over burst. Scoreboard pressure lead to further wickets and by the half-way stage, Malaysia were struggling at 3-57.

The Malaysia batsmen had no answer to Hong Kong's pace and spin attack and they had slumped to 8-84 after 16 overs with all the Hong Kong bowlers sharing the wickets. Hong Kong's final wicket came courtesy of a run-out and Malaysia finished on 9-103 from their 20 overs.

For Hong Kong, Tanwir Afzal and Aizaz Khan picked up two wickets each but Irfan Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with 1-9 from his four over spell. Ahmed Faiz was the best of the Malaysian batsmen with 22.

Frugal with the ball but dynamic with the bat, Irfan smashed four boundaries off the first over and three sixes and one four off the second as Hong Kong charged to 0-41 after just two overs. The carnage was paused briefly as Waqas Barkat (5) and Jamie Atkinson (1) fell in quick succession but the assault resumed as soon as Irfan got back on strike and he launched two more sixes to bring up his half-century and take Hong Kong to 2-63 after six overs.

Irfan blugeoned 20 more runs off the 10th over to take Hong Kong to verge of a thumping victory but he fell off the first ball of the 12th over for a stunning 87 from 39 balls, including ten 4s and six 6s. Nizakat Khan fell in the same over but Tanwir Afzal finished things off with a six to take Hong Kong to a six wicket victory with 8 full overs to spare.

Match Summary: Malaysia 9-103 from 20 overs lost to Hong Kong 4-108 from 12 overs (Irfan Ahmed 87) by 6 wkts [Scorecard]

Next up will be a tough encounter against the hosts and Hong Kong will be hoping to exact revenge for their loss to Nepal in the previous tournament. A massive crowd of 10,000+ fans is expected to watch the game at the Tribhuvan University cricket ground on 27th March.