ASIA CUP 2025
Litton Das struck a 39-ball 59 © Getty
Litton Das led from the front with an unbeaten half-century as Bangladesh got off to a winning start in the 2025 Asia Cup. Hong Kong came up with a much better performance with the bat compared to their outing on the opening night against Afghanistan but Bangladesh still got the job done with almost three overs left.
Where was the game won?
The middle overs difference
Parameters Hong Kong Bangladesh Score 67/1 71/0 Run rate 7.44 7.89 4s/6s 4/3 5/0
Hong Kong
Powerplay – Bangladesh take early control
Phase score – 34/2 [RR: 5.67, 4s/6s: 1/1]
Bangladesh started off the contest in ideal fashion. They almost struck very early when Mahedi Hasan saw a very close shout for lbw in the first over go against him due to umpire’s call. But Taskin Ahmed gave his side the breakthrough in the following over by finding the outside edge. Tanzim Hasan was the next to strike as he came back strong immediately after conceding a six to rattle Babar Hayat’s stumps. By the end of the powerplay, Hong Kong had their task cut especially with their opener Zeeshan Ali consuming 16 balls for just 5.
Middle overs – Hong Kong steady the ship
Phase score – 67/1 [RR: 7.44, 4s/6s: 4/3]
This turned out to be a much better phase for the batting side with Zeeshan finally making amends with a six and a four off Rishad Hossain. In the next over, he pulled Mustafizur Rahman for a boundary and followed it up with another one, this time off Mahedi. But just when he was finding momentum, Tanzim came back into the attack and struck with Zeeshan managing only a top-edge in his attempt to keep the boundaries coming. Yasim Murtaza then took charge for Hong Kong as they came up with a couple of vital sixes that pushed Hong Kong’s score past the 100-run mark with the final five overs left.
Death overs – A fighting total for Hong Kong
Phase score – 42/4 [RR: 8.4, 4s/6s: 3/1]
Mustafizur delivered a couple of tight overs at the death that also saw Hong Kong lose the crucial wicket of Murtaza. Rishad made amends too in the penultimate over with a couple of wickets as Bangladesh kept striking regularly at the death. However, Hong Kong also managed to add some crucial runs and looked on course to finish with 150, before eventually settling for 143.
Bangladesh
Powerplay – Bangladesh get going
Phase score – 51/2 [RR: 8.5, 4s/6s: 4/1]
Parvez Hossain found the boundary twice in the very first over albeit one being cheeky. He also took on Ayush Shukla for a six before his approach led to his downfall. Hong Kong could have kept the scoring tight if they had been disciplined with the ball. They ended up conceding five wides from a wayward delivery and a miss from the keeper gave Bangladesh another four runs. However, Ateeq Iqbal, who kept bowling in the powerplay at one end struck in the final over with Tanzid’s wicket.
Middle overs – Litton takes off
Phase score – 71/0 [RR: 7.89, 4s/6s: 5/0]
If there were any jitters in the powerplay, it went away in this phase as Litton slowly got into his groove. With Bangladesh scoring only 74 by the halfway point, Hong Kong were still in the hunt. However, Litton slowly shifted the momentum towards Bangladesh by fetching some quick runs. Those back-to-back boundaries in the 14th over titled the game heavily in favour of Bangladesh. Towhid Hridoy batted with precision until that point at the other end as he was just content knocking the ball around and keeping his side alive in the chase.
Death overs – Facile win for Bangladesh
Phase score – 22/1 [RR: 8.46, 4s/6s: 1/1]
Litton then put the finishing touches by slamming Murtaza for another six and followed it up with a boundary. In the process, he reached his half-century but got cleaned up before completing the win, which was done by Towhid Hridoy.
Brief scores:Hong Kong 143/7 in 20 overs (Nizakat Khan 42; Tanzim Shakib 2/21) lost to Bangladesh 144/3 in 17.4 overs (Litton Das 59, Towhid Hridoy 35*; Ateeq Iqbal 2/14) by 7 wickets
What’s next for the teams?
With a statement win to begin their campaign that has also given their NRR a huge boost, Bangladesh will now face sterner tests against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Both matches will be played at the same venue. Hong Kong on the other hand, will face Sri Lanka on Monday in their final group-stage clash.
© Cricbuzz
