The last five overs produce 77; the last ten yield 129. A miraculous escape by Pakistan to end with a commanding score. When even 160 at one stage looked difficult, they kept bashing at the death overs. Five sixes from Khushdil - four of them in the last over - as all of Hong Kong's hardwork in the first ten amount to nothing.
READ: 'Captain leading from the front', Netizens troll Babar Azam as he gets out after scoring just 9 runs against Hong Kong
A bit of deja vu for Hong Kong. They kept a tight lid on the scoring rate for the first 15 overs or so, but once the floodgates opened, there was no way to control the onslaught. On a slowish surface, Pakistan started cautiously after losing Babar Azam early and were 129/1 at one point after 16 overs.
Mohammed Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman got the fifties, but it looked like they chewed up too many deliveries. However, the ending was happier for Pakistan as after Zaman's wicket, Khusdil Shah came out and played the Suryakumar Yadav kind of innings to ramp up the target.
Pakistan plundered 55 runs in the final three overs, as the nerves of an inexperienced Hong Kong were clearly visible. It's a tall chase now for them, but if they can come out firing in the powerplay, anything is possible.
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