T20 Day Two Bulletin - PNG Barramundis stun Hong Kong in T20 showpiece

Hong Kong took out the runners-up spot at the Air Niugini Super Series 2012 T20 after surging past the combined Brisbane/Gold Coast team in the final round-robin match but they failed to match it with PNG in the final.

Hong Kong got their first look at the combined Brisbane/Gold Coast team from Australia in the final round-robin match of the competition. Conditions were again fine with a strong wind keeping temperatures down but making life difficult for the bowlers.

Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bat first. Hong Kong had set its best ever T20 score the previous day against Singapore and the batters were again in a free-hitting mood against the Australians. Tanwir Afzal and Waqas Barkat put together an opening stand worth 84 runs in 6 overs before Tanwir was caught for a scintillating 47, scored from just 18 balls and including six fours and three sixes. None of the Brisbane/Gold Coast bowlers were spared and Luke Elliot's single over - the third of the innings - was swatted for 24 runs.

Barkat was next to fall when he was trapped LBW for 44 from 26 balls and including eight fours. With Kinchit Shah and Babar Hayat continuing to maintain Hong Kong's run-rate at more than ten runs per over, the day's previous high score looked in danger of being surpassed. Shah blasted 45 from 30 balls while Hayat played his best innings of the tournament with a brilliant 67 not out from 36 balls, including six fours and four sixes. Nizakat Khan (8) hit the first ball he faced for a massive six but he was run out shortly afterwards from a direct hit by Shane Connors. Haseeb Amjad (4) was the only other batsman to be dismissed as Hong Kong reached a massive 221-5 from its 20 overs - a new record. Shane Connors was the best of the Brisbane/Gold Coast bowlers with 2-46 from four overs.

Once again Hong Kong chose to start with Kinchit Shah bowling into the stiff wind and once again he produced the goods for his captain, conceding just four runs from the opening over. Aditya Kanthan grabbed a wicket from his third ball as he bowled Connors for a duck. With only five runs coming from the first two overs, the Brisbane/Gold Coast batters needed over two runs per ball over the rest of their innings. Rhys Saunders (56) did his best to get them back on target, striking Nizakat Khan for three successive sixes but Khan had the last laugh as Saunders holed out at deep mid-wicket going for his fourth six of the over. Saunders innings was scored off 32 balls and included three fours and five sixes.

Sean Fitsimmons hit two fours and two sixes in his innings of 36, but once he fell the rest of the Brisbane/Gold Coast innings fell away and they were eventually dismissed for 146 from the last ball of their 20 overs.

Hong Kong skipper Waqas Barkat was the pick of the Hong Kong bowlers as he grabbed 3-12 from two overs while Aizaz Khan (2-8 from 2 overs) and Aditya Kanthan (2-25 from 3 overs) where the other multiple wicket-takers.

Score Summary: Hong Kong 221-5 from 20 overs (Waqas Barkat 44, Tanwir Afzaal 47, Kinchit Shah 45, Babar Hayat 67*) beat Brisbanae/Gold Coast 146 from 20 overs (Rhys Saunders 56, Sean Fitsimmons 36; Waqas Barkat 3-13) by 75 runs

Hong Kong's 75-run victory over Brisbane/Gold Coast took them into the T20 final against the hosts PNG.

With Hong Kong having hit scores of 194, 207 and 221 in its three round-robin games, a high-scoring final looked on the cards. Sadly, Hong Kong was not able to produce the goods when it mattered and they slumped to an ignominious ten-wicket loss to the PNG Barramundis in the competition final.

Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bat with Waqas Barkat and Tanwir Afzal once again setting out for Hong Kong. Barkat started his innings with a crashing boundary but he was dismissed in the second over for 5. Anshuman Rath was elevated to number three and he initially offered some solid defence to blunt the PNG attack. Afzal found the tight PNG bowling hard to get away and he was next to fall with the score on 32 after 4.2 overs, having hit three boundaries in his 22. PNG struck twice in the eighth over as Babar Hayat (3) was run out after being sent back by Rath when setting off for a second run and Nizakat (0) was caught and bowled by Tony Ura to leave Hong Kong reeling at 4-48. Two Hong Kong wickets also fell in the tenth over as Rath (17) was stumped after charging down the wicket to spinner Mahuru Dai and Haseeb Amjad was cleaned bowled for a golden duck.

At 6-54 after 10 overs, Hong Kong clicked into preservation mode in an attempt to post a competitive total. Kinchit Shah and Aizaz Khan shared a 27-run stand in six overs as Shah hit 20 from 21 balls while Khan managed just 9 runs, also from 21 balls. The pair took the total to 81 but both fell within the space of three balls as Hong Kong's resistance crumbled. Mudassar Hussain (13*) did his best with the remaining batsmen and together with Aditya Kanthan (4) and Li Kai Ming (1), lifted the total to 100 all out from 19 overs.

Joel Tom (3-17) and Manhuru Dai (3-25) did the most damage for PNG while Willie Gevera picked up 2-16 in a disciplined display.

Hong Kong came out with some bravado in defence of their small total but the wind was quickly knocked out of them by some scintillating batting from the PNG openers Assad Vala and Tony Ura. The PNG pair found no terrors in the wicket or in the Hong Kong attack as they powered the Barramundis to a stunning victory in just 10.2 overs. Vala finished on 55* from 31 balls, with eight fours and one six, while Ura scored 44* from 30 balls including five fours and two sixes.

Score Summary: Hong Kong 100 from 19 overs (Tanwir Afzal 22; Mahuru Dai 3-25) lost to PNG 102-0 from 10.2 overs (AssadVala 55*, Tony Ura 44*) by 10 wkts

At the closing ceremony, Hong Kong skipper Waqas Barkat was named Best Batsman at the tournament while Tony Ura picked up the overall Player of the Tournament award.