HANGZHOU: Aamer Jamal’s blistering 41 off 16, followed by a combined bowling effort by spin bowlers helped Pakistan Shaheens qualify for the Asian Games 2023 semi-finals after thumping Hong Kong by 68 runs in the quarter-final match at Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field on Tuesday.
After being put into bat first, Pakistan put 160 on the board, courtesy of Aamir Jamal’s fiery batting display at death.
In the second innings, the Qasim Akram-led spin attack proved too difficult a task for the Hong Kong batters who folded for 92 runs in 18.5 overs.
Nizakat Khan won the toss for Hong Kong and elected to field first. After a bumpy start to the innings, Pakistan eventually ended with a solid total of 160, owing to Aamir’s extraordinary hitting in the final overs of the innings.
Coming to bat in the 17th over, Aamir took only 16 balls to score 41 runs, including four maximums and two boundaries.
Earlier in the innings, veteran Asif Ali and debutant Arafat Minhas stitched a partnership of 36 runs from 26 balls for the seventh wicket. Asif (25, 21b, 1×4, 2x6s) and Arafat (25, 16b, 2x4s, 2x6s) were the second-highest scorers after Aamir.
Hong Kong had an impressive day with the ball; Ayush Shukla ended the innings with four wickets and Mohammad Ghazanfar grabbed three wickets.
In turn, Pakistan spinners rose to the occasion, allowing the side to completely command the game. The Hong Kong batters fell victim to the web Arafat, Sufiyan Muqeem, Qasim Akram and Khushdil Shah spun around them.
Khushdil got three wickets while the remaining three got two wickets each. Babar Hayat was the highest scorer for the side, after making 29 runs in 27 balls, hitting three boundaries and two sixes.
Pakistan will now feature in the second semi-final on Friday, 6 October against the winner of the third quarter-final between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka scheduled tomorrow.