Pakistan enter Super 4s with record win over Hong Kong, meet India on Sunday
Sharjah, Sep 2: Pakistan set up a second showdown against arch-rivals India in as many weeks with a record 155-run win over Hong Kong in a must-win Asia Cup match here on Friday.
Mohammad Rizwan had to work hard for his 78 off 57 balls as Pakistan got a much-needed final flourish to post 193 for two against Hong Kong.
Hong Kong were simply blown away in the run-chase with Pakistani attack proving to be too good for them. Their innings folded up for just 38 in 10.4 overs, sending Pakistan into the Super 4s as the second placed team from Group A.
It was Pakistan's biggest win in the shortest format.
Pakistan will meet India, who topped Group A, on Sunday.
Hong Kong had shown a bit of potential with the bat against India but they simply surrendered to the Pakistani attack.
It was a procession after Naseem Shah struck twice in the third over of the innings. Then it was the turn of the spinners, Shadab Khan (4/8) and Mohammad Nawaz (3/5), to do the damage as they shared seven wickets.
Shadab's googlies were far too good for the opposition batters before he ended Hong Kong's innings with a straighter one to dismiss Mohammad Ghaznafar.
The outing was a good learning experience for Hong Kong, a team full of amateurs who had to qualify for the tournament.
Like they had done against India, Hong Kong bowlers did well to keep Pakistan quiet for majority of the innings before losing their way. With Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman (53 off 41) struggling to find the boundaries, Pakistan reached 64 for one in 10 overs.
Khushdil Shah came up with a 15-ball 35 towards the end to ensure Pakistan put up a strong total.
Skipper Babar Azam (9 off 8) endured his second failure in as many innings in the tournament. Trying to accelerate, Babar went for an aerial stroke over the bowlers' head but ended up hitting straight back to spinner Ehsan Khan, who dived to his right to take a fine catch.
Rizwan could only find the ropes in the fifth over as he square cut medium pacer Ayush Shukla before guiding it towards third man for back to back fours.
The first six of the innings came in the 11th over when Rizwan stepped out to to leg-spinner Ghazanafar to tonk it straight for a maximum.
With Pakistan in dire need for big hits, Fakhar was able to release some pressure by smashing the spinners for couple of sixes in the cow corner region.
Struggling amid the heat and humidity, Rizwan was able to change gears after completing his half-century.
Lacking experience in crunch situations, Hong Kong bowlers once again lost the plot in the death overs, allowing Pakistan to collect 77 runs off the last 30 balls.
The 20th over bowled by Aizaz Khan alone yielded 29 runs and it included five byes and four sixes from Khushdil Shah's bat.
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Ex-Army officer assaulted, robbed at gunpoint by woman he met through matrimonial website
Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.
The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.
According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.
The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.
After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.
"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.
"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.
The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.
After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.
"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.
