Kowloon Cricket Club‘s dominant start to the season ended at the hands of rivals Hong Kong Cricket Club as the One Day Premier League title race remains wide open.
A late collapse saw KCC dismissed for 207, a target which HKCC knocked off with more than 12 overs and five wickets to spare. At one stage KCC had reached 166-3 in 35 overs thanks to contributions from in-form Hong Kong players Kinchit Shah (65) and Jamie Atkinson (58). But their dismissals saw KCC lose 41-7 and the unbeaten streak looked vulnerable.
Ryan Buckley‘s off-spin claimed 4-29, while Raag Kapur took 3-31.
Aside from losing a wicket in the first over, HKCC were rarely troubled in the chase as Hong Kong players Anshuman Rath (56) and Nizakat Khan (47) did enough to put the hosts in a strong position. For KCC, Tanveer Ahmed took 3-47 in a result that saw HKCC keep their Premier League title hopes alive.
Chasing teams had the better of both matches in Sunday’s Premier League, with the Cricket Hong Kong Independents XI scoring their first win of the season against Pakistan Association Cricket Club.
Chasing 271 for victory, CHK XI reached the target with three balls to spare in a thrilling contest at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground.
Earlier, Ahsan Abbasi‘s late launch at number seven yielded 74 off 61 balls to catapault PACC to what looked a competitive total.
But a steady hand of 91 from opener Matt Stiller laid a solid foundation for CHK XI, before Hong Kong player Shahid Wasif made an unbeaten 59 off 57 balls to finish the chase.
Additional reporting: HK cricket