Anshuman Rath and Babar Hayat lead Hong Kong to seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea and 2-1 series triumph
Rath scores a half-century and takes three wickets while Hayat plunders 82 runs, with the home side’s innings shortened because of rain
Captain Babar Hayat and Anshuman Rath combined for a 120-run fourth-wicket partnership to lead Hong Kong to a seven-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea in the third and final one-day international at Mission Road on Tuesday.
The victory, using the Duckworth-Lewis method after rain prevented 12 overs from being played, gave Hong Kong a 2-1 series victory and a confidence-booster ahead of their two-match ICC World Cricket League series against Kenya this month.
Hayat hit 82 off 87 balls, including three sixes, while Rath – in a strong all-round performance – clubbed 52 off 60 balls as Hong Kong scored 181 for three off 33.3 overs. PNG had earlier scored a competitive 244 for seven of their 50 overs but the target was revised after rain with Rath hitting the winning runs with 27 balls to spare.
Hong Kong won the first match on Friday by 106 runs before PNG levelled the series on Sunday with a 14-run victory.
Earlier, Mahuru Dai scored 76 to rescue PNG’s innings with Rath taking three wickets for 25 in his 10 overs.