Defending champions off to winning start
Hong Kong who won the last ACC Under 19 Elite Cup showed they were one of the favourites this time by overcoming Bahrain by 109 runs at Prem Centre in Chiang Mai.
Hong Kong who won the last ACC Under 19 Elite Cup showed they were one of the favourites this time by overcoming Bahrain by 109 runs at Prem Centre in Chiang Mai. Man of the match was Nizakat Khan, who continued the fine form with the bat he had shown in Hong Kong's World Cricket League Division 3 success last week.
Nizakat came to the crease in the second over but looked untroubled with a good defence and a range of powerful shots as he hit 17 fours and 2 sixes in his innings of 110. He moved easily to his 50 in 74 balls and raced to his century in a further 38 balls, looking a master at work in his red floppy hat.
Left-hander Kinchit Shah helped him add 120 for the fourth wicket and at 207 for three Hong Kong were on course for a total of more than 300. Bahrain fought back bravely as Sameer Abbas took a hat-trick with his left-arm spin.
A total of 274 for nine in 50 overs was still a formidable score, and Bahrain who had won the ACC Under 19 Challenge Cup on the same ground a year earlier did not have a batsman able to play the big innings required.
A succession of wickets fell to ambitious shots and Sameer Zulfiqar's 35 was the top score in the innings as Bahrain were bowled out for 165 in 38.1 overs, Niaz Ali taking 4 for 34 in his 10 overs.
Summary Scorecard: HKG U19 274-9 from 50 overs (Nizakat Khan 110, Kinchit Shah 43; Hardeep Singh 2-27, Sameer Minhas 4-37) beat BAH U19 165 from 38.1 overs (Sameer Zulfiqar 35, Cyrus D'Souza 26, Hardeep Singh 26; Niaz Ali 4-34, Max Tucker 2-28) by 109 runs
Hong Kong showed they would be one of the strongest teams in the tournament with their victory by 109 runs, but newcomers Bahrain have enough ability with bat and ball to trouble the other sides in this group.
Related link - Full coverage - ACC Under-19 Elite Cup 2011