Hong Kong slip to agonizing two wicket defeat to Nepal

Hong Kong have slipped to an agonizing two wicket defeat to Nepal in the opening day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup 2011 being played in Kathmandu.

Hong Kong's new skipper Jamie Atkinson won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first under cool and overcast conditions on a dry, barren wicket with little grass. A large crowd was expected for the game and although it was modest at the start of play, it soon grew in size and intensity.

Babar Hayat and Mark Ferguson made their debuts for Hong Kong and each was presented with their baggy red caps before the start of play.

Irfan Ahmed and Babar Hayat opened the batting and Irfan wasted no time as he carved two fours and two sixes in the first two overs as the total raced away to 37. The early pressure told on opening bowler Amrit Bhattari, who conceded 4 wides and a no-ball in his first over, as Irfan blazed away. An early switch to spin played immediate dividends for Nepal as Basanta Regmi dragged Irfan out of his crease and wicket-keeper Subash Khakurel did the rest.

The wicket was already showing signs of taking spin although the pace of the turn was slow. Atkinson joined an out of sorts Babar Hayat, who was lucky to survive a close run out shout, but Atkinson was soon to fall to Mahaboob Alam as he dragged a wide one back on to his stumps. Alam also accounted for Courtney Kruger and when Babar Hayat holed out in the deep to a good catch by Rahul Vishvakarma off Regmi, Hong Kong had slipped to 4-69 off 10 overs.

Vishvakarma then got into the wickets himself as he induced a false shot from Nizakat Khan and Bhattari snared a simple catch at backward point. Moner Ahmed and Waqas Barkat shared a small partnership before Waqas was out with the total on 95 off the first ball of the 17th over. Nepal skipper Paras Khadka bowled Moner Ahmed for 12 and Nadeem Ahmed was then run out trying to snatch a quick single. Aizaz Khan smote a huge six over wide long-on but he was unable to repeat the effort and he became Khadka's second victim of the innings. Debutant Mark Ferguson and Asif Khan ran well in the final over to bring Hong Kong's total to 9-114 after their allotted 20 overs.

For Nepal, the two spinners Regmui and Alam claimed 2-14 from their respective four over spells while Khadka came back well from a poor opening over to finish with figures of 4-0-26-2.

After such a promising start, Hong Kong's total looked a little light but with the wicket proving difficult to bat on, Hong Kong was still in with a chance.

Aizaz Khan opened the bowling for Hong Kong and he silenced the now capacity crowd of about 10,000 when he clean bowled Subash Khakurel off the fourth ball of the opening over. Moner Ahmed then fizzed a ball through the defences of Anil Mandal and Nepal had lost both openers with only 6 runs on the board. Worse was to follow for the home team as Mark Ferguson produced a superb stumping to dismiss the dangerous Mahaboob Alam while standing up to the medium pace bowling of Aizaz. With Nepal teetering at 3-14 after five overs, Hong Kong was well on top.

Nepal's skipper Paras Khadka joined Gyanendra Malla at the crease and the pair batted sensibly over the next seven overs to bring Nepal back into the game. Their partnership was broken when Malla (19) was brilliantly run-out by Moner Ahmed who threw down the stumps with a direct hit. Khadka was still playing well and when new batsman Prithu Baskota swatted a big six, the crowd went into a frenzy.

Baskota attempted to repeat the shot but a brilliant one-handed catch by Babar Hayat on the boundary ended his brief cameo. The crowd was stunned and when Irfan Ahmed bowled Binod Bhandari three balls later, they were silenced. The game was now on a knife-edge with 37 runs needed off 22 balls.

The 19th over of the match was to prove pivotal. It started well for Hong Kong as Irfan bowled Khadka off the first ball for a fine captain's innings of 44, including two fours and one six. But Irfan was to err by over-stepping the front line on two occasions that proved costly. One no-ball was swatted away for a boundary but worse, the subsequent free-hits were hit for a four and a six respectively by the left-handed Basanta Regmi. Irfan bowled Pradeep Airee off the last ball of the over, but by that stage the damage had been done, with 18 runs coming off the over.

Nepal's equation was now reduced to 8 runs off the last over with Moner Ahmed taking the ball for Hong Kong. Singles were taken off the first two balls and when Regmi cut a low full toss to the boundary, only two more runs were needed for victory. A single off the fourth ball tied the scores but a dot ball off the fifth delivery took the match to the final ball. A wicket or a dot ball would have tied the match and an eliminator over would have been required to separate the sides but this was not needed as Rahul Vishvakarma nudged the ball into a gap and Regmi scrambled home to secure a sensational victory that left Hong Kong stunned.

Regmi's innings of 17 runs off 9 balls including two fours and one six had snatched the game for Nepal.

For Hong Kong, Aizaz Khan bowled superbly at the start to claim 2-20 off his four overs while Irfan Ahmed finished with 3-26 off his four overs.

Nepal's skipper Paras Khadka received the Man of the Match award for his 44 runs and two wickets.

Scorecard: Nepal v Hong Kong