Nisshin, Sep 24 — The Malaysian cricket team began its Asian Games 2026 campaign with a strong win over Hong Kong, China in the Group B opener at the Korogi Sports Park here on Thursday.
Unbeaten knocks from Virandeep Singh (32) and Muhamad Syahadat (36) led Malaysia to chase down a meagre target of 82 against Hong Kong after Pavandeep Singh and Muhammad Amir Azim took three-wicket hauls each for Malaysia in a strong eight-wicket victory.
Hong Kong China had elected to bat first, but they were never really allowed to settle in with the bat. Left-arm spinners Pavandeep, Amir Azim and Virandeep shared seven wickets, while Malaysian skipper Syed Aziz Mubaraj and left-arm pacer Muhammad Wafiq took one wicket each to restrict Hong Kong to 81/9 in their 20 overs.
For Hong Kong, China, Shiv Mathur put up a mostly lone fight with his 29 from 39 balls, while Hassan Khan Mohammad added 13 runs in the end and opener Nizakat Khan scored 19 at the start.
Malaysia lost their openers early in the chase as right-arm pacer Nasrulla Rana removed both of them in his first over and the innings' second to put Malaysia under pressure.
However, Virandeep and Syahadat dropped anchor to stabilise the innings. They put up an unbeaten stand of 70 for the third wicket to take the team home in the 12 overs with 48 balls to spare.
The two teams will now face Oman in their last Group B matches before two of the three teams qualify for the quarterfinals.
Earlier, Afghanistan had defeated Japan in the Group A opener. Afghanistan trounced an impressive Japanese side in the men's cricket opener at the Asian Games 2026 as they beat the hosts in a Group A clash by 48 runs.
The second-string Afghanistan team, led by Darwish Rasooli, defended a modest 129 after a decent start from Japan, with spinners doing the work to bowl the hosts out for 81 in 19.3 overs.
Debutant leg-spinner Arab Gul Momand picked up four wickets, while left-arm finger spinner Nangeyalia Kharoti, pacer Abdullah Ahmadzai, and Najibullah Zadran shared the other six wickets.
After being asked to bat first, Afghanistan managed to put 129/6 on the board. Japan showed glimpses with the bat and were 53/1 after 7.3 overs but lost their way in the middle to get bowled out for 81.
Brief scores: Malaysia 84/2 (Muhamad Syahadat 36* from 32 balls, Virandeep Singh 32* from 32 balls; Nasrulla Rana 2-23) beat Hong Kong 81/9 (Shiv Mathur 29 from 39 balls, Nizakat Khan 19 from 14 balls; Pavandeep Singh 3-11, Muhammad Amir Azim 3-12) by eight wickets