World Cup hopes fade as Hong Kong suffer 57-run loss to Canada

Hong Kong's hopes of making it through to the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup suffered another blow after they were comprehensively outplayed by hosts Canada in the fourth match of the tournament played at King City's Maple Leaf 3 (South-East) ground today.

Winning the toss and batting first, Canada began cautiously with 14 runs coming from the first five overs. But Hiral Patel opened his shoulders in the sixth over, blasting Aizaz Khan for 18 runs, including four boundaries, that set the tone for the remainder of the innings. Runs and boundaries flowed from the Canadian openers' bats as Patel and Ruvindhu Gunasekara posted an opening stand worth 134 runs in 26 overs. Gunasekara (53 from 67 balls) was the first to go when he was caught by Asif Khan off the bowling of Ashish Gadhia shortly after completing his half century. When Canada brought up their 150 in the 31st over, a score in excess of 300 looked on the cards. Hiral Patel's fine innings (82 from 102 balls) finally came to an end when Niaz Ali got one to seam in and peg back his off stump. The loss of the openers slowed the run-rate slightly but useful partnerships kept the scoreboard ticking over at a good clip as Canada's 200 came up in the 40th over. Canadian skipper Rustam Bhatti (23), Nitish Kumar (22), Usman Limbada (32) and Darius D'Souza (36) all made useful contributions in a final total of 6-277 from 50 overs. For Hong Kong, Niaz Ali, Aizaz Khan, Nizakat Khan, Ashish Gadhia and Asif Khan each claimed a solitary wicket, while another disappointing bowling effort from Irfan Ahmed saw him leak 57 runs from just six overs.

Hong Kong's woes at the top of the order continued as James Atkinson (0) and Vikash Gope (7) were sent back to the pavilion before the end of the sixth over. However an excellent 104-run partnership between Nizakat Khan and Irfan Afmed lifted Hong Kong's total to 117, although the effort consumed over 30 overs. The partnership was broken when Irfan was dismissed for 58 from 74 balls including six fours and 2 sixes. With Hong Kong's required run-rate now at over 8, wickets started to tumble as the remaining batsmen took risks in their quest for quick runs. Nizakat's patient innings finally came to an end in the 46th over when he was dismissed for 80 from 133 balls, including four boundaries. Darius D'Souza picked up three late wickets as Hong Kong finished on 8-220 after their 50 overs, giving Canada victory by a margin of 57 runs. Canada's opening batsman Hiral Patel was named Man of the Match.

Scorecard: Hong Kong Under-19 v. Canada Under-19

In other matches played today, Ireland beat PNG by 73 runs; USA beat Uganda by 57 runs to remain the only unbeaten team at the tournament; and Afghanistan defeated Vanuatu by 8 wickets.

Tomorrow is a rest day for all the teams. With Sierra Leone now out of the tournament, Hong Kong will be looking for a major form reversal in their remaining games against Uganda, Ireland, Vanuatu and the USA. Hong Kong will need to win at least two of these matches to have any chance of reaching the U19 Cricket World Cup - three victories will virtually assure them a place at the main event.