Following a heavy opening loss to Malaysia, Hong Kong, China successfully revived their Asian Games campaign by defeating Oman by 41 runs in their final Group B match at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. The victory hinged on a disciplined bowling performance, with paceman Ayush Shukla and leg-spinner Mohammad Ghazanfar spearheading the attack to restrict Oman to 80/6 in their chase of 122.
Hong Kong, China elected to bat first but faced an early setback, losing Anshuman Rath and Nizakat Khan within the first three overs. A partnership between Babar Hayat and Hafeez Khan stabilized the innings, adding 51 runs for the third wicket to reach 34 by the end of the Powerplay. Although they looked set at the midway point, the team suffered a collapse as Mohammed Al Balushi claimed three wickets for 17 runs, dismissing both set batters and removing Shiv Mathur during a decisive 14th over.
The innings appeared to be faltering at 95/7 when Nasrulla Rana was bowled in the 18th over. However, a spirited 16-run cameo from Ehsan Khan—highlighted by a four and a six—combined with an unbeaten 18 from captain Yasim Murtaza to push the total to 121/8. The innings concluded with Ehsan being run out in the final stages.
Oman’s reply was disastrous from the outset, losing a wicket in each of their opening three overs. Ayush Shukla dismantled the top order, taking 3-23 and cleaning up Muzaffar Shiralkar to leave Oman struggling at 19/4. Despite some brief resistance from Shuaib Al Balushi, who struck a six off Shukla, the pressure mounted as Ehsan Khan and Murtaza tightened their control, conceding only a single run across the eighth and ninth overs.
Mohammad Ghazanfar capitalized on the building pressure, dismissing Shuaib before trapping Issa Al Balushi lbw to reduce Oman to 46/6. While Sufyan Mehmood and Abdul Jalil batted through the remainder of the 20 overs, they could not match the required run rate against the tight spin of Ghazanfar, who finished with figures of 2-10 from his four-over quota, and captain Murtaza, who conceded just nine runs. This victory elevates Hong Kong, China to second place in the group, setting the stage for the upcoming Malaysia-Oman clash to determine the final standings. The report also notes that pacer Ayush Shukla and leg-spinner Mohammad Ghazanfar combined for five wickets as Hong Kong, China defended 121 comfortably, in another low-scoring encounter. The report also notes that babar Hayat and Hafeez Khan dragged the score to 34 by the end of the Powerplay and a 51-run stand for the third wicket put Hong Kong, China in a decent position at the halfway mark despite Oman stitching in quiet overs on a regular basis. The report also notes that before trapping Issa Al Balushi in front as Oman were reduced to 46/6, ghazanfar then reaped the benefits of it to bowl Shuaib.
