Hong Kong captain Chan says ‘we can do better’ after crushing 8-wicket win over Bahrain in ACC Women’s T20 Championship
- Iqra Sahar stars with ball for Hong Kong as they restrict opponents to just 79 runs
- Skipper Kary Chan then eases her side to victory with unbeaten 23 in their second game of the tournament
Hong Kong captain Kary Chan guided her side to a crushing eight-wicket win over Bahrain in the ACC Women’s T20 Championship, and then said there was still room for improvement.
Chan’s side restricted their Group B opponents to 79 for 9 from their 20 overs and then knocked off the runs with little more than 11 overs bowled and for the loss of just two wickets.
But for the Hong Kong skipper, while the emphatic nature of the victory was pleasing, failing to bowl Bahrain out when they had reduced them to 17 for six, and losing wickets in the subsequent run chase, took the shine off the result somewhat.
“We can do better,” Chan said. “Our target is always to get them out in 20 overs, but that’s cricket, and we won, so that’s good.
“I wouldn’t say we were disappointed, but we expected to get them out in 20 overs because we had a very good start.”
The only slight concern for Hong Kong is that they failed to ram home their advantage. Bahrain captain Deepika Rasangika did her best to set a competitive total, finishing unbeaten on 47, but in reality it was never likely to be enough.
Iqra Sahar was the pick of the Hong Kong bowlers, taking two wickets for eight runs from her four overs, while Betty Chan and Mariko Hill also picked up two wickets each.
Hill got her side off to a flyer with that bat, smashing 19 off 16 balls at the start of the run chase, before being trapped leg before by Gayani Fernando with the score on 23.
While her opening partner, Bella Poon (9) followed soon after, caught behind by Rasika Hathadurage off the bowling of Tharanga Gajanayake, to leave Hong Kong at 36 for two, Natasha Miles (18*) and Kary Chan (23*) ensured there were no late wobbles.
“We expected the openers could finish the game,” said Chan. “But it’s fine, because they [Hill and Poon] did their job, they hit a few boundaries, especially Mariko, and got some good runs on the board.”
Hong Kong now have a rest day before they face Nepal on Tuesday, and Chan said the players would be given the option of doing some training or taking a break ahead of a game that could prove pivotal in their bid to reach the Asia Cup later this year.
The top two teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals. The teams that reach the final will then face the likes of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in September.
“Some of the players may train, some will take a rest,” Chan said. “It’s important that the players know what they want and can rest or train more depending on how they feel.”
