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Advantage HK as Jamshaid seizes moment

Asked to prove his worth before the final, Mohammed Jamshaid produced a stunning display of seam bowling to spearhead Hong Kong to an emphatic seven wicket victory over Malaysia in their final group match at the Tuanku Ja'afar tournament yesterday.

Left-arm medium-pacer Jamshaid took five for 22 in three separate spells of hostile bowling as Hong Kong took the psychological high ground before today's final against the same opponents.

'This was my opportunity. And I took it. It is my best bowling figures, the first time I have taken five wickets for Hong Kong. I'm very pleased,'' said Jamshaid, soon after the Malaysians had struggled to set a target of 151 after surprisingly opting to bat first on a damp pitch which offered plenty of movement.

Jamshaid's timely contribution has given tour selectors a headache over who to leave out for the finale, with teenage left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed also firing once again with a superb unchanged spell of beguiling spin which earned him two wickets.

'We decided to give Jamshaid the chance to remind us what he is capable of. He didn't fare all that well in the opening match but he certainly proved his worth today,'' said coach Lal Jayasinghe.

Strike bowler Khalid Khan was kept under wraps and was on water duty yesterday. The plan was to use him as the secret weapon - Malaysia has never faced his left-arm bolters.

'Jamshaid's outstanding performance today and the fact that Nadeem continues to bowl superbly has given us a problem. Khalid is supposed to be the best bowler in Hong Kong but here he was sitting on the bench. Who do we leave out? it is an extremely difficult situation, but a nice one to be in,' laughed skipper Rahul Sharma.

The only bowler to fall short was Sher Lama who conceded 29 runs from four overs. Opening bowler Mohammed Zubair was again unlucky and was counting the occasions of both hands when he came close to taking wickets. Zubair ended with two for 19, but it could easily have been more.

Baby of the side Ahmed, 15, showcased his talent once again with another lovely spell. Yesterday, Sharma brought him in before the regulation first 15 overs were finished. Ahmed rose to the challenge of bowling with fielding restrictions on and once again spun his deceptive web.

The Malaysians chose to leave a couple of their top batsmen out yesterday. Rakesh Mahdavan and Sarath Jayawardene were rested. They might live to rue that decision if the unpredictable weather decides to play a role. Sudden showers rolled across the field at the Royal Selangor club, barely minutes after Sharma had scored the winning runs by pulling a short ball to the mid-wicket boundary.

Sharma was just putting the finishing touches to a run chase founded on the solid batting of Manoj Cheruparambil who has bloomed on this tour. Scores of 37 and an unbeaten 41 against Singapore and Thailand respectively, were followed with another boundary-ridden display. Deservedly he got his half-century. If there is any flaw in his batting, it is the tendency to lose his way once in the 30s.

Cheruparambil put on 31 for the opening wicket with Grayson Tyndale, who for the third successive time fell leg before. All-rounder Ilyas Gul was promoted up the order and he responded by scoring 49. He was out trying to bring up his 50 with a hoick over extra cover.

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