KARACHI: Pakistan decimated a weak Hong Kong side with an all-round performance at the National Stadium on Thursday to launch their ACC Emerging Teams Cup campaign in style.

Batsmen plundered runs while strike bowlers were among the wickets as the Mohammad Rizwan-led side beat the Dragons by a mammoth 225 runs in their Group ‘B’ match.

In the other Group ‘B’ fixture, UAE stunned Bangladesh with a 97-run win over the Tigers here at the Southend Club.

Mohammad Ilyas, an emerging pacer from Peshawar, registered the first-ever five-wicket haul of his blossoming career to finish off Hong Kong’s batting line-up for just 141 runs after Pakistan posted 366-3 in 50 overs.

The 19-year-old Ilyas, who has played just five first-class and six List-A matches so far, sent back Raag Kapur, Babar Hayat and Waqas Khan on consecutive deliveries in the seventh over to announce his maiden appearance in Pakistan colours with a hat-trick.

“I’ve never taken five wickets in my career and doing that for the first time in an international match is a great feeling,” man-of-the-match Ilyas, who ended with figures of 5-35 in seven overs, said.

Pakistan batsmen had earlier heaped the pressure on the less-experienced Hong Kong side after being put into bat.

Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Ali Imran hit centuries, putting up a 219-run partnership which ended in the 36th over.

Farhan, who has represented the national senior side in three T20 Internationals, hit 15 fours and two sixes in his 130 off 125 balls while Imran smashed 11 fours and a six for 107 off 105.

“It’s about playing with consistency and I’ll try to keep it up,” said Farhan.

Imran said he wanted to use the tournament to make an impact as a player.

“I think we can win this tournament,” he said “No matter how big the opponent is on paper, we have to play normal cricket and according to the coaches and team management’s instructions.”

Khushdil Shah, who hails from Bannu, contributed with a quick-fire 40-ball 83 which included nine fours and four sixes. The left-hander paired up with skipper Rizwan (33 not out) in a 91-run partnership.

Khushdil also bagged two wickets while Hussain Talat, Mohammad Asghar and Sameen Gul took one wicket each.

Hong Kong’s best-performing batsman was wicket-keeper Shahid Wasif, who scored 59 off 81 balls.

“Experience was the major difference between us and Pakistan today,” said Hong Kong captain Aizaz Khan. “However, we now know our weaknesses and will come back stronger in the next match.”

Pakistan and UAE will lock horns with each other at the National Stadium on Friday, when Bangladesh will play Hong Kong at the Southend Club.

Summarised scores:

At National Stadium: Pakistan beat Hong Kong by 225 runs.

PAKISTAN 366- 3 in 50 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 130, Ali Imran 107, Khushdil Shah 83, Mohammad Rizwan 33 not out; Aizaz Khan 2-92); HONG KONG 141 in 34 overs (Shahid Wasif 59, Nizakat Khan 25, Tanwir Afzal 21; Mohammad Ilyas 5-35, Khushdil Shah 2-5).

At Southend Club: UAE beat Bangladesh by 97 runs.

UAE 267 in 49.4 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 98, Ghulam Shabber 52, Rohan Mustafa 40, Shaiman Anwar 34; Shariful Islam 4-55, Khaled Ahmed 3-61); BANGLADESH 170 in 36.5 overs (Mizanur Rahman 43, Shafiul Islam 32, Shariful Islam 31 not out, Yasir Ali Chowdhury 20; Imran Haider 4-35, Ahmed Raza 4-50).

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2018