Skipper Syed Aziz scripts epic Malaysian comeback to overcome Hong Kong China
Syed Aziz was Malaysia’s hero on match day seven at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier A, where Malaysia beat Hong Kong China by 3 runs despite the East Asians needing 52 to win off 60 balls in a chase of 125 at the Bayuemas Oval. Bowling at the death, the Malaysian skipper took 4 wickets, conceding just nine runs to seal victory for the host nation.
At 73/2 at the halfway point of their innings, Hong Kong China looked to be cruising toward a win that would’ve scuppered Malaysia’s hopes of advancing to the Asia Regional Final, thereby ending their World Cup dream.
Yet, the captain put his hand up, kicking off his wicket tally by getting Babar Hayat caught behind for 8. His next wicket was the big one of opposition skipper Nizakat Khan who top-scored with 34 until he was caught by Ahmad Faiz. The capable Ehsan Khan walked in next only to depart for a golden duck.
With 21 required off 12 balls, Yasim Murtaza clubbed a six before finding Vijay Unni to swing the momentum back in Malaysia’s favour.
Despite Rizwan Haider overstepping with 12 required off seven balls, Aizaz Khan decided to come back for a disastrous second run only to be run out by Faiz. Ateeq Iqbal missed the resulting free hit, giving Syed Aziz 10 to defend off the final over.
With four required off the final ball of the chase, Anas Khan skied a ball high up in the air. As the ball hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity, Virandeep Singh had to take the catch or risk Hong Kong China coming back for a third run to tie the game and force it into a super over.
Virandeep held his nerve, taking a high-pressure catch baseball style to trigger wild celebrations from the Malaysian dugout who stormed the outfield.
Earlier in the day, it was Syed Aziz himself who top-scored with 40 at the top of the order. Yet, after he was caught by Aizaz Khan off the bowling of Ateeq Iqbal, it triggered a collapse that saw the Malaysians lose their last nine wickets for the addition of just 66 runs.
Yasim Murtaza was near unplayable in the middle overs, starring with figures of 3 for 12 that helped bowl the home side out for 124 with two balls to spare in the 19th over.
Playing their next game against the inexperienced Mongolia, Malaysia have all but sealed their progression to the Asia Regional Qualifier Final. Singapore need to win their final game and hope that Hong Kong China and Malaysia lose their respective final matches to have a mathematical chance of qualifying on net run rate.
Hong Kong and Kuwait, on the other hand, will effectively be playing a winner-takes-all match on Monday afternoon.
Brief Scores:
Malaysia 124/10 in 18.4 Overs (Syed Aziz 40, Murtaza 3-12, Iqbal 2-22) beat Hong Kong China 121/9 in 20 Overs (Nizakat 34, Syed Aziz 4-9, Vijay Unni 2-18) by 3 Runs
Player of the Match: Syed Aziz (Malaysia)