<
>
Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Winner goes through, loser goes out as Hong Kong take on Pakistan

play
Pakistan players sweat it out in the nets (0:29)

All eyes on Babar Azam and Naseem Shah as Pakistan get ready for their clash against Hong Kong (0:29)

Big picture

It still feels like early days in the Asia Cup, but one of Hong Kong or Pakistan will see their tournament draw to a close on Friday. The format for the first round means one defeat can place any side under instant pressure. With India having pulled clear through wins over both opponents, there is clarity to the mission for both the Associate and the Full Member, the giants and the would-be giant killers.

There may be limited cricketing or historical evidence to suggest Hong Kong could mount a serious challenge to a side with Pakistan's firepower, but they will be well aware a knockout in the shortest format presents a golden opportunity to spring an upset. Against India, it was the bowling that let them down, even if a spirited batting performance demonstrated the threat the side can pose. Babar Hayat, Zeeshan Ali and Scott McKechnie provided the big hitting, while Ayush Shukla, Ehsan Khan and Yasim Murtaza kept things tight, allowing just 82 runs in their 12 combined overs.

Pakistan, however, might feel this game plays into their hands to some extent. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan do not come flying out of the blocks, but the template they follow was similar to one that India executed against Hong Kong on Wednesday. They opened their innings conservatively, before the middle order put the bowlers to the sword, smashing 98 in the final seven overs. And while India's approach may have been a game plan tailored to the opposition they were facing, scoring their big runs in the final overs is how Pakistan play anyway against nearly all opposition.

And so we have what we often cry out for, a T20I outside the World Cup with something on the line. It might, on paper, be a mismatch, but across the tableau of relatively context-free bilateral T20Is, it is rare to find a game with as much riding on it as Pakistan against Hong Kong on Friday. It's a game Hong Kong will savour, but they will tell themselves it might just be one they could also win.

Form guide

Pakistan: LLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Hong Kong: LWWWL

In the spotlight

At his best, Khushdil Shah is perhaps Pakistan's most powerful hitter of the ball, but in Pakistan's colours in T20I cricket, he has never come close to hitting those heights. In the game against India, which saw a limp performance from almost every Pakistan batter, Khushdil's innings - a timid 2 off 7 balls - still stood out for its total lack of intent. Perhaps a game against Hong Kong, whose bowlers don't quite offer the same threat as India's is just what he needs to produce a statement innings.

Hong Kong vice-captain Kinchit Shah has had a memorable time of late. The allrounder was in decent form at the Asia Cup qualifiers and the Cricket World Cup Challenge Group, striking a half-century against Uganda and 139 against Bermuda, and picking up a four-wicket haul against Kenya. He was steady, if not quite explosive, with the bat against India, scoring 30 in 28 balls. Off the field too, things have been good. After the game against India, he proposed to his partner. A win against Pakistan to go through to the next stage would cap a blissful few days for Kinchit, both personal and professional.

Pitch and conditions

The weather is expected to be oppressively hot throughout the tournament, and Friday in Sharjah will be no different. The slower bowlers have tended to prosper here of late, although the small boundaries might be a temptation for the batters too

Team news

There's a cloud around Naseem Shah's fitness. In the event of his absence, Mohammad Hasnain would be the like-for-like replacement.

Pakistan: (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt) 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 3 Fakhar Zaman 4 Iftikhar Ahmed 5 Khushdil Shah 6 Shadab Khan 7 Asif Ali 8 Mohammad Nawaz 9 Mohammad Hasnain 10 Haris Rauf 11 Shahnawaz Dahani

Despite the defeat to India, Hong Kong will have been encouraged by their performance, with the bat in particular. Expect an unchanged side.

Hong Kong (possible): 1 Nizakat Khan (capt) 2 Yasim Murtaza 3 Babar Hayat 4 Kinchit Shah 5 Aizaz Khan 6 Zeeshan Ali 7 Scott McKechnie (wk) 8 Haroon Arshad 9 Ehsan Khan 10 Ayush Shuka 11 Mohammad Ghazanfar

Stats and trivia

  • Pakistan are yet to win a T20I in 2022. The two games they played in the format - against India and Australia - have ended in defeat

  • Haris Rauf is five wickets shy of matching Shaheen Afridi's T20I tally of 47. Should he get there against Hong Kong, it will have taken him five fewer innings than Shaheen to get there.

Hong Kong 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st16Yasim MurtazaNizakat Khan
2nd0Yasim MurtazaBabar Hayat
3rd3Yasim MurtazaKD Shah
4th6KD ShahAizaz Khan
5th5KD ShahSS McKechnie
6th1Zeeshan AliSS McKechnie
7th5Zeeshan AliHaroon Arshad
8th0Ehsan KhanZeeshan Ali
9th2Ehsan KhanA Shukla
10th0Ehsan KhanMohammad Ghazanfar

Men's T20 Asia Cup

Super Four
TeamMWLPTNRR
SL33060.701
PAK3214-0.279
IND31221.607
AFG3030-2.006
Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
IND22041.096
PAK21123.811
HKG2020-4.875
Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
AFG22042.467
SL2112-2.233
BAN2020-0.576