Litton Das set up an easy win for the Tigers.
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Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy’s match-winning partnership for the third wicket was a throwback to the early days of T20 batting, when minimising risk was still trendy. The duo proved that the retro quality it imbibed was still efficient as Bangladesh cantered to a seven-wicket victory against Hong Kong at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here to get its Asia Cup campaign off to a winning start.
They diligently tailgated the required rate till the 10-over mark, with 74 runs on the board and Litton and Hridoy batting on an identical 14 off 15 balls.
After two more overs of circumspection and with the asking rate nudging seven, Litton brought out the reverse sweep to end a 32-ball boundary drought.
Breaking the shackles
That opened the floodgates, as the Bangladesh skipper shelved caution for flair to smash four fours and a six in the next 24 balls. However, he couldn’t impart the final flourish, falling with just two runs needed.
His partner, Hridoy, completed the task with a single, a fitting end to another one-sided contest in the tournament.
Earlier, Hong Kong exceeded its expectations after being asked to bat. Five of its batters had their pads on when they lined up for the national anthems. It was perhaps a precautionary measure as Hong Kong had lost three wickets off 14 balls against Afghanistan a couple of nights ago.
However, the No. 5 batter ambled in only in the 12th over, after Zeeshan Ali and Nizakat Khan had added 41 runs at a run-a-ball. It wasn’t a scene-shifting alliance, but a stodgy resistance that kept Hong Kong in the match at the halfway stage.
Mix-up
Skipper Yasim Murtaza could have added heft to Hong Kong’s total if not for a horrible mix-up with Nizakat in the 18th over, but even then, it may not have been enough.
The scores: Hong Kong 143/7 in 20 overs (Zeeshan Ali 30, Nizakat Khan 42, Taskin Ahmed 2/38, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 2/21, Rishad Hossain 2/31) lost to Bangladesh 144/3 in 17.4 overs (Litton Das 59, Towhid Hridoy 35 n.o., Ateeq Iqbal 2/14).
Toss: Bangladesh; PoM: Litton.
Published – September 12, 2025 12:12 am IST