Hong Kong Beats Singapore in ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023: Hong Kong started their ACC Premier Cup campaign with a resounding victory over Singapore, thanks to the brilliant century of experienced player Babar Hayat. With this victory, Hong Kong scored two important points in the first match of Group B at Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground.
Chasing a winning target of 175 runs, Hong Kong comfortably won the match by 8 wickets, losing only two wickets in 33 overs. Babar Hayat remained unbeaten on 108 runs off 94 balls with 10 fours and 6 sixes, and his outstanding performance was the key factor in Hong Kong’s victory.
Babar Hayat Becomes the First Player to Score a Century in the Premier Cup
In the 33rd over, Babar Hayat hit Aritra Dutt with consecutive sixes in the third, fourth, and fifth balls to secure an easy victory for his team. He completed his century in just 92 balls with two consecutive sixes, becoming the first player to score a century in the Premier Cup.
Babar and Nizakat Khan Partnership Seals the Victory
Captain Nizakat Khan played a crucial role in Hong Kong’s victory, scoring 51 runs off 89 balls with 3 fours and 1 six. For the second wicket, Babar and Nizakat shared a century partnership of 132 runs, which helped Hong Kong secure an easy victory. Opener Anshuman Rath was dismissed for 6 runs. Singapore’s Ramesh and Aritra Dutt took one wicket each.
Hong Kong’s Spinners Dominate: Hong Kong Beats Singapore in ACC Men’s Premier Cup
Earlier in the match, Singapore lost the toss and was invited to bat first. They could only manage to score 174 runs in 42.1 overs, as none of their batters performed well except for opener and captain Aritra Dutt, who scored 49 runs off 57 balls with 9 fours.
Hong Kong spinners Ehsan Khan and Yaseem Murtaza dominated Singapore’s batting lineup, taking 4 and 3 wickets respectively. Ehsan Khan took 4 wickets with 24 runs in 10 overs with 3 maidens, while Yaseem Murtaza took 3 wickets in 10 overs with 25 runs, including 1 maiden. Ayush Shukla, Aziz Khan, and Mohammad Ghazanfar took one wicket each.
Group B and Group A Fixtures
Group B consists of UAE, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, and Bahrain. On Wednesday, there will be a competition between UAE and Kuwait at TU ground, while Oman and Qatar will meet in Mulpani. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, and the team that wins the title through the finals will play against India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
Group A match is going on at TU Cricket Ground Between Nepal and Malaysia.
