Giantkillers Ireland giant-killed at home by Hong Kong

Peter Della Penna, courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, 17 July 201E

mark Chapman batting Mark Chapman lines up a shot on the off side, Ireland v Hong Kong, World T20 Qualifier, Group A, Dublin, July 17, 2015 ©Peter Della Penna

After winning 21 straight matches at the World T20 Qualifier, Ireland’s batting funk has now led to two straight defeats, as Hong Kong stunned the hosts by defending 129 for a five-run win. Mark Chapman‘s gritty 30 in Hong Kong’s innings was backed up by an inspired bowling unit spearheaded by captain Tanwir Afzal‘s opening four-over spell of 0 for 9 to hold Ireland down to 124 for 8. After rain delayed the start of the second innings, Hong Kong’s pace bowlers also benefitted from intermittent bursts of showers that were never enough to take the players off the field but added moisture to the pitch and made batting difficult as the chase wore on.

While Afzal was stingy from one end, he struggled to find a bowling partner to keep the pressure up at the other, and Ireland appeared on course for victory after Paul Stirling torched Aizaz Khan for 20 runs to move the score to 43 for 1. But the introduction of Irfan Ahmed in the ninth over turned the tide Hong Kong’s way as he got Stirling pulling to deep midwicket for 34 and Ireland’s innings sputtered from there.

Kevin O’Brien fell three overs later with only 11 more added to the total, run-out for 5 after hesitating for a second on Irfan’s arm from long on, as Nizakat Khan’s tight spell of legspin generated pressure on the field. Gary Wilson and William Porterfield added 30 for the fourth wicket but Wilson fell at a critical stage for 16, caught behind off Aizaz .

Porterfield was bowled for 28 by Haseeb Amjad as Hong Kong continued to surge in the field, and Stuart Thompson was run out on the following ball by a direct hit from the captain Afzal at mid off to leave Ireland needing 25 off two overs with four wickets in hand. Irfan bowled a magnificent two-run 19th over to cap off figures of 4-0-11-3, claiming Stuart Poynter with a thin edge behind and George Dockrell caught in the deep for a duck.

With 23 needed off the final over, John Mooney hit a boundary back down the ground off the first ball from Haseeb, but a dot was followed by a two and wide to bring it to 16 off three balls. A yorker on the fourth legal delivery clinched the win, Mooney’s six and four off the last two balls only making the final margin closer than it actually was.

Ireland badly missed the experience of Niall O’Brien, who was out after twisting a knee in the loss to Papua New Guinea. His status for the rest of the tournament is unknown.

The hosts inserted Hong Kong after winning the toss but could not capitalise on some early chances that turned out to be costly in the end, none more so than when Nizakat was dropped on 0 after Porterfield’s brilliant one-handed effort at backward point failed to stick. Nizakat made 25 off 21 balls, serving as the aggressor in a 44-run stand with Anshuman Rath who made 22 off 35 balls before he was bowled around his legs by Dockrell.

Nizakat fell to an excellent leg-side stumping off Kevin O’Brien with Wilson standing up, and Babar Hayat missed a sweep to give Dockrell his second wicket in the 13th over making it 74 for 4. It was left to Chapman to give Hong Kong a fighting chance and he dug in until the final ball, hitting five fours along the way.

Crucially, Chapman hit three of those boundaries off the final seven balls of the innings – working his way around the leg side with a drive over mid on, a slog over midwicket and a scoop over fine leg – before falling in the deep off the last ball. While the bowlers received most of the plaudits in the end, it was the 21-year-old vice-captain whose unsung efforts gave the bowlers a platform to defend.

The win gives Hong Kong a chance of finishing as high as second in the group if they can secure wins over USA and Namibia in their final two Group A matches. Ireland’s second loss in Group A now means that Papua New Guinea need to win just one of their final two games against Namibia or USA to clinch first place and force Ireland into playing at least one extra match to secure a spot in next year’s World T20.

Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo’s USA correspondent. @PeterDellaPenna

 

 

ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 33rd Match, Group A: Ireland v Hong Kong at Dublin (Malahide), Jul 17, 2015
ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier – 33rd match, Group A
Hong Kong won by 5 runs
17 July 2015 (20-over match)
Hong Kong innings (20 overs maximum) R M B 4s 6s SR
View dismissal Irfan Ahmed c Poynter b Young 6 6 7 1 0 85.71
View dismissal Anshuman Rath b Dockrell 22 42 35 3 0 62.85
View dismissal Nizakat Khan st †Wilson b O’Brien 25 43 21 1 2 119.04
View dismissal MS Chapman c Thompson b Mooney 30 45 24 5 0 125.00
View dismissal Babar Hayat lbw b Dockrell 7 3 6 0 1 116.66
View dismissal JJ Atkinson b O’Brien 9 3 5 2 0 180.00
View dismissal Aizaz Khan c Stirling b O’Brien 3 6 7 0 0 42.85
View dismissal Tanwir Afzal* c Porterfield b Mooney 18 17 15 0 1 120.00
Haseeb Amjad not out 0 4 0 0 0
Extras (lb 2, w 7) 9
Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 129 (6.45 runs per over)
Bowling O M R W Econ 0s 4s 6s
AR Cusack 4 0 26 0 6.50 7 2 0 (2w)
View wicket CA Young 3 1 17 1 5.66 12 0 2 (1w)
SR Thompson 2 0 13 0 6.50 6 2 0 (1w)
View wickets JF Mooney 3 0 18 2 6.00 11 3 0 (1w)
View wickets GH Dockrell 4 0 21 2 5.25 15 2 1 (1w)
View wickets KJ O’Brien 4 0 32 3 8.00 10 3 1 (1w)
Ireland innings (target: 130 runs from 20 overs) R M B 4s 6s SR
View dismissal A Balbirnie c Aizaz Khan b Haseeb Amjad 9 9 10 2 0 90.00
View dismissal PR Stirling c Nadeem Ahmed b Irfan Ahmed 34 37 26 4 1 130.76
View dismissal WTS Porterfield* b Haseeb Amjad 28 68 40 2 0 70.00
View dismissal KJ O’Brien run out (Irfan Ahmed/Nizakat Khan) 5 11 10 0 0 50.00
View dismissal GC Wilson c †Atkinson b Aizaz Khan 16 15 16 2 0 100.00
View dismissal SW Poynter c †Atkinson b Irfan Ahmed 7 17 7 1 0 100.00
View dismissal SR Thompson run out (Tanwir Afzal) 0 1 1 0 0 0.00
JF Mooney not out 18 10 8 2 1 225.00
View dismissal GH Dockrell c Babar Hayat b Irfan Ahmed 0 2 2 0 0 0.00
AR Cusack not out 0 4 0 0 0
Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 4) 7
Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 124 (6.20 runs per over)
Bowling O M R W Econ 0s 4s 6s
Tanwir Afzal 4 1 9 0 2.25 18 1 0
View wickets Haseeb Amjad 4 0 40 2 10.00 11 6 1 (2w)
View wicket Aizaz Khan 2 0 29 1 14.50 2 3 1 (1w)
Nizakat Khan 4 0 17 0 4.25 9 0 0 (1w)
View wickets Irfan Ahmed 4 0 11 3 2.75 16 1 0
Nadeem Ahmed 2 0 15 0 7.50 4 2 0

Match details


Toss – Ireland, who chose to field
Points – Hong Kong 2, Ireland 0
Player of the match – Irfan Ahmed (Hong Kong)
Umpires – RSA Palliyaguruge (Sri Lanka) and P Wilson (Australia)
TV umpire – RT Robinson (England)
Match referee – GF Labrooy (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire – JD Cloete (South Africa)

Match Notes


    • Hong Kong innings
    • Powerplay: Overs 0.1 – 6.0 (Mandatory – 35 runs, 1 wicket)
    • Hong Kong: 50 runs in 9.1 overs (55 balls), Extras 4
    • Hong Kong: 100 runs in 16.6 overs (102 balls), Extras 8
    • Innings Break: Hong Kong – 129/8 in 20.0 overs (Haseeb Amjad 0)
    • Ireland innings
    • Rain: Ireland – 0/0
    • Powerplay: Overs 0.1 – 6.0 (Mandatory – 43 runs, 1 wicket)
    • Ireland: 50 runs in 7.3 overs (45 balls), Extras 1
    • Ireland: 100 runs in 17.0 overs (102 balls), Extras 6
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MATCH CENTRE

Match

124/8

20.0 ov

4s

13

6s

2

dots

60

RR

6.20

Hong Kong won by 5 runs

4s

25

6s

6

dots

121

50Dot ball %
  • Stirling 34 (26)

    4s

    4

    6s

    1

    73Control %

    off drive

    11 runs

    1×4 1×6

    7310815
  • William 28 (40)

    4s

    2

    6s

    0

    78Control %

    cover drive

    14 runs

    2×4 0x6

    1183132
  • Irfan A

    O

    4.0

    M

    0

    R

    11

    W

    3

    Eco

    2.75

    RHB

    1w2wWOOSLWLFTYFGSGS

    LHB

    WLLSOWOFTYFGSGS

  • Haseeb

    O

    4.0

    M

    0

    R

    40

    W

    2

    Eco

    10.00

    RHB

    1wWOOSLWLFTYFGSGS

    LHB

    1wWLLSOWOFTYFGSGS

Partnerships

Andrew 9Stirling 34Kevin 5Wilson 16William 4Thompson 0Poynter 0Dockrell 0Mooney 179Stirling 043William 811William 430William 1212Poynter 70Poynter 01Mooney 10Mooney 018*Cusack 0
Best batting performances
  • Paul Stirling

    Stirling 34 (26)
    Ire Inns

    4s

    4

    6s

    1

    SR

    130.76

    73Control %

    Productive Shot

    off drive

    7310815
    off
    side
    leg
    side
  • Mark Chapman

    Chapman 30 (24) 

  • William Porterfield

    William 28 (40)
    Ire Inns

    4s

    2

    6s

    0

    SR

    70.00

    78Control %

    Productive Shot

    cover drive

    1183132
    off
    side
    leg
    side
Best bowling performances
  • Irfan Ahmed

    Irfan A

    WLLSOWOFTYFGSGS
  • Kevin O'Brien

    Kevin

    WLLSOWOFTYFGSGS
  • John Mooney

    Mooney




Interviews – ‘This win means a lot to me’ – Irfan Ahmed



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