Batting fireworks from Jamie Atkinson and Tanwir Afzal were not enough as Hong Kong lost to Zimbabwe by 14 runs in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in Nagpur on Tuesday.
A late flurry with the bat, including a career-best 44-ball 53 from Atkinson and a brisk, undefeated 31 from skipper Tanwir off 17 balls, was not enough to chase down the target of 159 set by Zimbabwe.
It was the first time the teams have faced each other in a T20I, and Hong Kong’s precise fielding kept the Zimbabwe batsmen on their toes, with Babar Hayat contributing to three brilliant run outs from the boundary. Skipper Tanwir and 21-year-old Aizaz Khan claimed two wickets apiece as Zimbabwe posted 158 runs for the loss of eight wickets.
In response, Hong Kong got off to a slow start, but opener Atkinson unleashed to score 27 runs in his last three overs, while Tanwir smashed three fours and a six to race to an unbeaten 31 runs from only 17 deliveries. The batting onslaught proved too little, too late, however, and Zimbabwe recorded the first victory of the tournament by 14 runs.
Captain Tanwir Afzal said that despite the disappointment of losing, he saw many positives in his side’s performance: “Our plan was to bowl first and to restrict them for less than 140, and I think we managed that really well in the middle overs. We were in a position to control them, to restrict them below 145. The last few overs weren’t really good, so I think we had a very good plan that we executed well until the last few overs.”
“Even with their total, we knew we could chase that total and we know our batting ability, we can chase that.”
Tanwir said that the Zimbabwean bowlers effectively kept the Hong Kong run rate down at the beginning of the run chase: “We know that if we can save the wickets in the powerplay, we can accelerate later on. But unfortunately, we were able to save the wickets, but we couldn’t get our target in the powerplay. Credit goes to the Zimbabweans, they bowled really well in the powerplay.
“Of course we are disappointed with the result, and we know that runs really matter in the points table. The next game is really crucial for us. We know that we are still alive in the group, and we will work very hard to produce better results in the next game.”
Reflecting on his all-round performance, Tanwir said: “It’s all about the team and team work. Forget about my performance – if we win, that is a big thing for me.”
Hong Kong will have one rest day before it faces Afghanistan in a night match at the VCA Stadium, Nagpur, on 10 March.
Result: Zimbabwe won by 14 runs
Zimbabwe 158 for 8, 20 overs (Vusi Sibanda 59, Elton Chigumbura 30 not out, Malcolm Waller 26; Tanwir Afzal 2-19, Aizaz Khan 2-33, Nadeem Ahmed 1-26)
Hong Kong 144 for 6, 20 overs (Jaime Atkinson 53, Tanwir Afzal 31 not out, Mark Chapman 19; Donald Tiripano 2-27, Tendai Chatara 2-28)
Man of the Match: Vusi Sibanda
Babar Hayat looked dangerous again but fell for just 18 off 16 balls. The pattern of good starts that went unfinished a sore point for captain Tanwir Afzal when summing up the tour. “The middle order batsmen made the same mistakes in all three games and we didn’t learn from it and that’s disappointing,” Afzal said. “We are a better team than this and we have a couple of players who were missing coming back for the World T20 so hopefully we can prove that.”
Afghanistan 7-178 (Aizaz Khan 3-38) def Hong Kong 112 (Anshuman Rath 41 Kinchit Shah 29) by 66 runs