Asia Cup 2022, Pakistan vs Hong Kong: Stats, Award Winners, Post-Match Presentation Comments

Sharjah, Sep 2: Pakistan registered their biggest-ever T20I wins in terms of runs as they thrashed Hong Kong by 155 runs in their last group match in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 here at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday (September 2).

Having set a daunting 193-run target after being put in to bat first, Pakistan bowlers made a mockery of Hong Kong batters in the run chase and bundled the minnows out for 38 in 10.4 overs and qualified for the Super 4s.

Spinners Shadab Khan (4/8) and Mohammad Nawaz (3/5) did the most damage to the Hong Kong batters as they shared seven wickets. It was their bowling effort that kept Hong Kong batters on the back foot after the pacer gave them early jolts in the powerplay. Naseem Shah struck twice in the third over of the innings and soon after Shahnawaz Dahani also picked up a wicket to open the floodgates for Hong Kong.

Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan enter Super 4s with a crushing 155-run win over Hong Kong, meet India on Sunday

Earlier in the day, Mohammed Rizwan scored a valuable 78 off 57 balls while Khushdil Shah's explosive cameo of 35* off 15 deliveries propelled Pakistan to a much-needed final flourish to post 193 for two.

Fakhar Zaman - who shared a century stand with Rizwan for the second wicket - also slammed a fluent fifty. His knock of 53 off 41 balls helped Pakistan keep the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs and the left-handed batter later exploded.

After this win, Pakistan will now face arch-rivals India in the first Super 4 encounter in the tournament. The two teams will lock horns for the second time in two weeks in the tournament.

Here mykhel brings you the post-match comments from the presentation ceremony, stats, and award winners from Pakistan vs Hong Kong game:

Player of the Match: Mohammed Rizwan (PAK)

Catch of the Match: Khushdil Shah (PAK)

Nizakat Khan, HK captain: Lots of learning from these two games. Must give credit to Pakistan. Their bowling was phenomenal. Our shot-making was poor.

Azam Khan, Pakistan captain: Very good win for us. Weren't able to get our shots away initially with the bat. Our plan is for batters at the top to play at the end. Becomes easier for those coming in. Naseem and Dahani are performing really well having made debuts very recently.

Rizwan, Player of the Match: Most important thing for us is to assess conditions. Our effort is to forget the format and assess conditions. The plan in the first 10 overs was to play with a straight bat. The ball was keeping low. Being the main player, you have to take responsibility. You look at what the team demands.

Mohammad Nawaz: The plan was simple - bowl wicket-to-wicket and bowl on a good length as the ball kept a bit low. We were eyeing a 170+ score. The fast bowlers started well and our (spinners) plan was simple. We try to build pressure with dot balls.

Stats:

Biggest margin of win by runs in T20Is (Full Members)

172 SL vs Ken Johannesburg 2007
155 Pak vs HK Sharjah 2022 *
143 Ind vs Ire Dublin 2018
143 Pak vs WI Karachi 2018
137 Eng vs WI Basseterre 2019

Lowest T20I totals for Hong Kong:
38 vs Pak Sharjah 2022 *
69 vs Nepal Chattogram 2014
87/9 vs Uganda Bulawayo 2022
87 vs Oman Abu Dhabi 2017

Lowest T20I totals vs Pakistan:
38 Hong Kong Sharjah 2022 *
60 West Indies Karachi 2018
80 New Zealand Christchurch 2010
82 Scotland Edinburg 2018