Litton and Hridoy’s Stellar Stand Boosts Bangladesh to Victory Over Hong Kong in Asia Cup 2025

Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy’s decisive partnership for the third wicket was reminiscent of the earlier T20 days when playing it safe was still in vogue. Their collaboration demonstrated that this classic approach remains effective, as Bangladesh comfortably secured a seven-wicket win over Hong Kong at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, marking a successful start to their Asia Cup journey.

The pair stayed close to the required run rate until the 10-over mark, achieving 74 runs with both Litton and Hridoy scoring an identical 14 runs off 15 balls.

After another two overs of cautious batting with the required rate creeping up toward seven, Litton executed a reverse sweep to break a 32-ball boundary dry spell. This opened the scoring as the Bangladesh captain switched from a cautious approach to an aggressive one, hitting four boundaries and a six over the next 24 balls. He couldn’t quite see the game through, falling just two runs shy of the target.

Hridoy finished the game with a simple single, appropriately concluding a one-sided match in the tournament.

Earlier, Hong Kong surpassed their own expectations after being put into bat. Despite a precautionary readiness by having five batters padded up during the national anthems, reminiscent of when they lost three wickets in 14 balls against Afghanistan recently, the No. 5 batter only came in during the 12th over. By then, Zeeshan Ali and Nizakat Khan had put together a 41-run partnership at a run-a-ball pace. Although it wasn’t a partnership that altered the game, it provided a sturdy stand that kept Hong Kong competitive midway.

Captain Yasim Murtaza missed the chance to boost Hong Kong’s score further due to a miscommunication with Nizakat in the 18th over, though it likely wouldn’t have been sufficient.

Scores:
Bangladesh 144/3 in 17.4 overs (Litton Das 59, Towhid Hridoy 35 not out, Ateeq Iqbal 2/14) defeated Hong Kong 143/7 in 20 overs (Zeeshan Ali 30, Nizakat Khan 42, Taskin Ahmed 2/38, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 2/21, Rishad Hossain 2/31). Toss: Bangladesh.

Published on September 12, 2025