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Malaysia beat Hong Kong by three runs in the 18th ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier A 2024 at Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur. Kuwait moved to the first spot with four wins in five games and a positive net run rate (NRR) of 5.053. Meanwhile, Hong Kong slipped to the second spot after losing to Malaysia.
Malaysia climbed from fourth to third with eight points and an NRR of +1.537. Meanwhile, Singapore moved third to fourth with three wins and two losses. They have a healthy net run rate of 2.308.
Maldives, Myanmar, and Mongolia retained their following three spots, respectively. Maldives, ranked fifth, have won two, and Myanmar, in sixth have won one.
Mongolia have been the underdogs of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier A. They have lost five games in a row and are lying at the foot of the table, eying for their first win in the upcoming match against Malaysia.
Here's how the Asia Qualifier A points table far after Malaysia's win:
Syed Aziz’s all-round performance guides Malaysia to win over Hong Kong
Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bowl first. Malaysia lost their opener Zubaidi Zulkifle for a duck. However, skipper Syed Aziz (40) and Muhammad Amir (29) forged a 57-run partnership for the second wicket. Sharvin Muniandy added 24 runs as they were bowled out for 124 in 18.4 overs.
Yasim Murtaza secured a three-wicket haul while Aizaz Khan, Anas Khan, and Ateeq Iqbal picked up two wickets apiece. Ehsan Khan also claimed one wicket.
In reply, Jamie Atkinson (20) and Zeeshan Ali forged a 33-run opening partnership for Hong Kong. Ali (25) and skipper Nizakat Singh (34) added 40 runs for the second wicket. However, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and fell short by three runs.
Aziz bagged four wickets for Malaysia while Vijay Unni and Rizwan Haider took two scalps each.
