Hong Kong batting first rallied strongly from 11/4 to score 77/7 in their 20 overs and bowled Malaysia out for 42 to win their opening ICC World T20 Asia Qualifier match by 35 runs.
Hong Kong, who won the the toss, chose to bat first on an overcast day at the Asiatic Institute of Technology in Bangkok. A delayed start did not dampen the occasion, as Keenu Gill and Yasmin Daswani took strike to start the tournament for the Red Dragons.
On what was a good wicket, it became evidently clear it would be a difficult game with the Malaysian attack bowling well from the outset. Winifred Duraisingam and Zayani Syamimi applied pressure to the Hong Kong top order up with some good stump to stump bowling making in the opening power play
The tough early batting conditions and a very slow outfield made scoring hard. In the 3rd over with Hong Kong on 7 for no loss, Zayani Syamimi had Gill given out LBW for 4. In came in-form captain Mariko Hill who departed for a golden duck on her birthday after a low full toss found the top edge whilst sweeping and was well caught by the keeper going backwards.
With Hong Kong seeking some stability at 7-2, Kary Chan came to the crease and looked busy while scoring a couple of singles, however, her demise came in the next over through a sharp catch at cover. Shanzeen Shahzad joined Daswani at the crease looking to create a lasting partnership but Syamimi once again firmly put Malaysia in the driving seat with another catch coming from a mishit to mid-off to leave Hong Kong in deep trouble at 10/4 after 5.3 overs.
Daswani and new batswoman Jenefer Davies started to rebuild Hong Kong’s innings finding gaps and running hard pushing the score to 24 before Dawwani was bowled by Jannadiah Halim, 24-5 after 9 overs.
Davies was joined by Natural Yip and both players combined well taking singles and putting pressure on the Malaysian bowlers. Both batters saw out the 2nd half of the innings punishing the bad ball and testing the arms of the Malaysian fielders. Yip was bowled for 18 by Syamimi in the 19th over -71-6.
The return of Duraisingam saw Davies well caught by Syamimi for a game changing 29 from 36 balls. Marina Lamplough saw off the final two balls to see Hong Kong finish on 77-7 off 20 overs.
Betty Chan (4-1-9-1) and Mariko Hill (2-0-6-1) opened the bowling against the Malaysians who had a tough time against the combination of pace and spin resulting in an early wicket for Hill with her 2nd ball of the game with Davies, who was in the process of putting together a player of the match performance, taking the catch behind the stumps.
Tight bowling and sharp fielding continued to restrict the Malaysian batswomen who played high risk shots resulting in key dismissals to leave the innings stuttering at 14-3 after 6 overs. With pressure mounting, Hong Kong took control of the game with dot ball pressure creating a number of run outs.
Annie Ho (3-0-5-0) and Keenu Gill (2-0-4-1) stifled the Malaysian reply with a clinical partnership in the middle of the innings. Marina Lamplough and Chan Sa Ha combined to finish off the Malaysian tail. Both created havoc with yet another seam/spin combination which finished off the Malaysian innings inside 17 overs.
Hong Kong (77/7) beat Malaysia (42 all out) by 35 runs.
Player of the Match: Jenefer Davies
Hong Kong coach Richard Waite said “Delighted with the character shown by the team after a tough start at the beginning of the Hong Kong innings. The skill and game awareness of Jenefer Davies was crucial to Hong Kong edging up towards a score of 75/80 which ultimately proved to be 35 too many in tricky conditions”
Additional reporting and images: HKcricket