A strong Powerplay effort with the ball was not enough for the men’s Japan national team to overcome Hong Kong, China in the first T20I on Saturday in Sano.
Having been held to just 95/7 with the bat, Hong Kong fell to 25/4 and 36/5 in response, only for Shahid Wasif (30 not out from 31 balls), Hassan Khan Mohammad (25) to take Hong Kong, China past the target of 96 in the final over.
Japan were sharp with ball in hand on a turning Sano surface, with Charlie Hara-Hinze and Benjamin Ito-Davis combining for the four wickets in the first six overs, removing Hong Kong, China’s revered top order of Nizakat Khan, Ashuman Rath, Babar Hayat and Shiv Mathur for a combined total of 20 runs.
Ito-Davis claimed 3/11 from four overs also bowled a maiden in his first effort to go alongside a Japan top score of 35 from 34 balls, with Hara-Hinze (2/21) economic in his four overs alongside Japan’s record wicket-taker Makoto Taniyama, who claimed 1/15 from his three overs.
Earlier, Japan had built a platform of 50/2 at the 11-over mark, though the miserly efforts of Ehsan Khan and skipper Yasim Murtaza curtailed any hopes of a score upward of 120.
Hong Kong bowled just three overs of pace, including one over from Hassan Khan Mohammad, who was only deployed in the final over.
The sides meet for the second and final T20I at the same venue on Sunday morning, with Japan facing India for the Suzuki Cup on Tuesday.
