Ehsan Khan takes 3-5 as Hong Kong bowl China out for 40 and win in 3.4 overs

Hong Kong needed only 22 balls to finish a second straight win in Malaysia after China were bowled out for 40 at the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval

China won the toss and chose to bat on Friday, and were dismissed for 40 in 13.2 overs, with the off-spin pair of Ehsan Khan and Mohammad Ghazanfar taking 3-5 and 3-10 between them.

Hong Kong reached 41 for 2 in 3.4 overs to win by eight wickets with 98 balls remaining in the fifth match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub Regional Asia Qualifier B in Bangi, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

It was Hong Kong's second win in two days, after they beat hosts Malaysia by seven runs on the DLS method in their opening game. China, beaten by ten wickets by Maldives in their opening game, are still without a point.

China never settle on a slow morning

The decision to bat first brought nothing at the top of the order. Jianhao Du fell for 4 from 6 balls, caught by Reyansh Sharma off the bowling of Ayush Shukla, and Wangjie Yang made 4 from 2 before being trapped lbw by Hassan Khan Mohammad.

Only one batter reached double figures. Yuechao Zong took 27 balls over his 15, the innings' top score, and found almost nothing in support as wickets fell at the other end.

Senqun Tian made 6 from 10 and Jianyao Du 3 from 10. The last five in the order managed 5 runs between them, and the innings closed on 40 with 40 balls of the allocation unused.

China's extras column read 2, a single wide, which is a measure of how little loose bowling there was to work with.

Ehsan Khan leads the squeeze

Ehsan Khan, the 41-year-old off-spinner who has been part of the Hong Kong side for a decade, finished with 3-5 from 3.2 overs and was named player of the match. All three of his wickets were bowled.

Ghazanfar's 3-10 came from a full four-over spell and included a caught and bowled. Between them the two spinners conceded 15 runs in 7.2 overs.

Every bowler Hong Kong used took a wicket. Ayush Shukla returned 1-8, Hassan Khan Mohammad 1-10, Reyansh Sharma 1-5 and Aizaz Khan 1-1 from the single over he bowled.

A chase that lasted 22 balls

Hong Kong attacked the target from the first over rather than walking it down. Anshy Rath made 20 from 7 balls before he was stumped by Jianyao Du off Jinqi Deng.

Zeeshan Ali had gone in the second over for 12 from 8, dismissed hit wicket off Qiancheng Ma. Babar Hayat finished unbeaten on 7 and Reyansh Sharma was 1 not out when the winning runs came.

The 41 runs arrived in 3.4 overs, and the margin of the win will do Hong Kong's net run rate no harm in a six-team group where places are likely to be tight.

What the qualifier decides

Qualifier B is a single round-robin between Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, played across three grounds in and around Kuala Lumpur.

The top three from this group and the top three from Qualifier A, which is being played alongside it, advance to the Asia regional final in 2027. That tournament feeds into the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028.

Saudi Arabia also won on Friday, beating Malaysia by three wickets, and Singapore beat Maldives by 33 runs, leaving Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia as the only unbeaten sides after two rounds.

Where both sides go next

Hong Kong meet Saudi Arabia at the Bayuemas Oval on Sunday in a meeting of the group's two unbeaten sides.

China face Singapore at the Selangor Turf Club on the same morning, with a first point of the tournament still to find.

Scorecard: China 40 all out in 13.2 overs (Yuechao Zong 15; Ehsan Khan 3-5, Mohammad Ghazanfar 3-10) lost to Hong Kong 41 for 2 in 3.4 overs (Anshy Rath 20, Zeeshan Ali 12) by eight wickets.

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