BAN vs HK

That is all then from this Asia Cup fixture with Bangladesh registering first points and Hong Kong suffering their second consecutive loss. The action will move from Abu Dhabi to Dubai tomorrow where Pakistan and Oman will being their campaigns. Join us then, for now this is Sourabh Agrawal taking your leave on behalf of Meeth Agrawal and the entire team, cheers!

Litton Das, the Bangladesh skipper is the Player of the Match for his 59 off 39, here are his words: "Very important to win the first game. We have played well in the last couple of series but there is pressure in the Asia Cup. We played well. Last couple of years our bowling attack has done really well. We have been looking for a leg spinner and Rishad has performed well. They batted really well, the ground is big and the wicket is on the slower side, not easy to hit so we had to look for ones and twos." 

Yasim Murtaza (Hong Kong Captain): "To be honest, happy with the batters played but would have been happier if one of our batters had scored 60-70. (On his run-out) These kind of things happen on the field. Once we go back, we'll work on those. We gave runs freely against Afghanistan but we came with a better plan today. As you know, Litton and Hridoy had a great partnership." 

10:05 PM Local Time, 11:35 PM IST: MATCH SUMMARY

Bangladesh (144/3 in 17.4 overs) beat Hong Kong (143/7 in 20 overs) by 7 wickets

Litton Das 59(39) | Tanzim Hasan Sakib 2/21(4)
Nizakat Khan 42(40) | Ateequllah Iqbal 2/14(3.4)

Handshakes all around after a cry of come on from Hridoy who was growing visibly frustrated after not being able to finish it quickly. In the end, it is a comfortable and convincing victory for Bangladesh who get home with 14 balls to spare and are also on the board as far as points are concerned.

Bangladesh were always in control of this run chase in extremely humid condition in Abu Dhabi, it never looked like they were in any trouble throughout this chase even as they took their own sweet time to get past the finish line. Nonetheless, Bangladesh would be pleased to complete the job and do so clinically.

They lost both their openers in the powerplay, both of them got starts but could not carry on. Parvez Hossain Emon got off the blocks quickly but holed out in the third over against Ayush Shukla while Tanzid Hasan Tamim's stay was a scratchy one before he too fell in the powerplay.

Two experienced pros, skipper Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy set their stalls in then. They were ready to do the donkey work and milk the bowling, dealt in singles and doubles, ran hard between the wickets and made sure that they did not give Hong Kong an opening. From time to time, one thought that that they might drop the hammer but they ensured safety.

As they got closer to the target, Litton opened up and hit some cracking boundaries and he went to his 14th T20I fifty and was looking to seal the deal. He just fell short of the finish line but Hridoy then hit the winning runs even though he pretty much struggled throughout his innings for timing.

Hong Kong have now lost two in two and pretty much out of the competition but this was a much improved performance from them. Nizakat Khan, skipper Yasim Murtaza and Jeeshan Ali helped them post a decent 143 on the board in 20 overs. With the ball, they held their own and ensured it was not a walkover for Bangladesh. The medium pace of Atteq Iqbal was the standout with two wickets for just 14.

17.4 Ateequl Rehman Iqbal to Towhid Hridoy, DONE AND DUSTED! Good length on off, swings across to deep square leg for a solo. BANGLADESH WIN BY 7 WICKETS AND 14 BALLS TO SPARE! TWO DEFEATS IN A ROW FOR HONG KONG!

17.1 Ateequl Rehman Iqbal to Litton Das, GONE! LITTON COULDN'T SEE OFF THE CHASE! IQBAL CLEANS HIM UP! Off pace, fuller just outside off, Litton went for the loft across but inside edges it onto the middle stump. 

Still not happening for Hridoy, he has tried profusely to find the fence and finish it off but just not getting it. Only singles in that over and the game extends to the 18th over. Just 2 needed now, surely this has to be done now.