Irfan Ahmed blasts his way to a second half century to help Hong Kong defeat Sussex 2nd XI
Visitors get confidence boost in second warm-up match before the ICC Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers in Scotland and Ireland
Big hitter Irfan Ahmed did it again, blasting a second half century in their second warm-up match against the Sussex 2nd XI to help Hong Kong win by three wickets in their lead up to the ICC World Twenty20 qualifier.
Chasing a daunting target of 190, Irfan hit 61 in an explosive 100-run opening partnership with teen left-hander Anshuman Rath (35), which laid the foundation for the successful run chase on Monday at Blackstone Academy Ground in Sussex.
Left-hander Mark Chapman built on their total to see Hong Kong reach home with two balls to spare.
The opening stand of a 100, the first in a long time, set the platform and Anshuman showed he is in a good touch too
Hong Kong scored 191 runs for seven wickets, beating Sussex 2nd XI who scored 190 runs for three wickets.
"It was a fantastic chase against quality opposition. Irfan continues to show how damaging he can be,” Hong Kong coach Charlie Burke said.
"The opening stand of a 100, the first in a long time, set the platform and Anshuman showed he is in a good touch too.”
It was Hong Kong’s second win in the build-up to the 14-team ICC World Twenty20 qualifier in Scotland and Ireland this month. from July 9-26. They opened with a convincing 72-run win over Ardingly College on June 27.
It was a tougher task against the Sussex second-stringers, who fielded quality players including ex-Australian one-day captain George Bailey who has been signed by the county as a replacement for Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene.
“Bailey was impressed with the batting of Irfan. At the way he [Irfan] is going, I won’t be surprised if a number of counties approach him after the ICC World Twenty20,” Burke said.
“It was pleasing to win against such a good side and this result will give our squad a lot of confidence,” Burke said. “We now have to fine-tune our preparations before moving to Scotland and then Ireland for the tournament.”
Hong Kong’s bowling, apart from skipper Tanwir Afzal and Nizakat Khan, leaked runs. Sussex batting first after winning the toss made 67 for one in the first 10 overs before cutting loose with the next 10 overs conceding 123 runs.
Afzal and Nizakat were economical, however, each taking a wicket and conceding 24 runs and 19 runs from the four overs, respectively.
“We didn’t play Haseeb [Amjad] as we are trying to bring on a few of the other players, so that we have more options at the critical stages of a match, which is the power-play and death bowling,” Burke said.
